Investing.com - The euro was steady against the U.S. dollar on Friday, hovering close to a three-week low as demand for the greenback remained supported by hopes for a U.S. rate hike by the middle of the year.
EUR/USD hit 1.0655 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0665.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0578, the low of March 18 and resistance at 1.0888, the high of April 8.
The dollar remained supported after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said Wednesday that the timing of a rate hike depends on economic data and added that a rate hike in June could still be possible if the labor market recovery remained strong.
Wednesday’s minutes of the Fed’s March meeting showed that several officials believe the economic outlook is likely to warrant an interest rate hike in June.
The greenback was also boosted after the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week rose by 14,000 to 281,000 from the previous week’s total of 267,000.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to rise by 18,000 to 285,000 last week.
The euro was higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP adding 0.17% to 0.7257