Investing.com - The euro pushed lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as investors locked in profits as the single currency was hovering close to eight-month highs against the greenback, while markets remained jittery ahead of U.S. budget talks.
EUR/USD hit 1.3166 during European afternoon trade, the pair's lowest since December 21; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3188, dropping 0.38%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3067, the low of December 14 and resistance at 1.3284, Thursday's high.
Investors remained cautious as U.S. President Barack Obama was to meet congressional leaders later Friday at the White House for last-minute talks on a "fiscal cliff" deal to avoid automatic tax increases and broad spending cuts that threaten the US economy's recovery.
The meeting comes just four days before the government goes over the so-called fiscal cliff, assuming no deal is reached. Without a deal, the U.S. could fall back into recession and drag much of the world down with it.
Earlier Friday, Markit research group said that the euro zone's retail purchasing managers' index deteriorated to 44.5 in December from a reading of 45.8 the previous month.
The report came after official data showed that French consumer spending rose 0.2% in November, more than the expected 0.1% increase and following a 0.1% fall the previous month.
Elsewhere, the euro was lower against the pound with EUR/GBP declining 0.60%, to hit 0.8172.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on pending home sales, as well as a report on business conditions in the Chicago area and official data on crude oil stockpiles and natural gas inventories.
EUR/USD hit 1.3166 during European afternoon trade, the pair's lowest since December 21; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3188, dropping 0.38%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3067, the low of December 14 and resistance at 1.3284, Thursday's high.
Investors remained cautious as U.S. President Barack Obama was to meet congressional leaders later Friday at the White House for last-minute talks on a "fiscal cliff" deal to avoid automatic tax increases and broad spending cuts that threaten the US economy's recovery.
The meeting comes just four days before the government goes over the so-called fiscal cliff, assuming no deal is reached. Without a deal, the U.S. could fall back into recession and drag much of the world down with it.
Earlier Friday, Markit research group said that the euro zone's retail purchasing managers' index deteriorated to 44.5 in December from a reading of 45.8 the previous month.
The report came after official data showed that French consumer spending rose 0.2% in November, more than the expected 0.1% increase and following a 0.1% fall the previous month.
Elsewhere, the euro was lower against the pound with EUR/GBP declining 0.60%, to hit 0.8172.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on pending home sales, as well as a report on business conditions in the Chicago area and official data on crude oil stockpiles and natural gas inventories.