Investing.com - The euro remained lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as sustained concerns over the worsening of the debt crisis in the euro zone and U.S. fiscal policy continued to dampen market sentiment.
EUR/USD hit 1.2725 during European afternoon trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2748, shedding 0.25%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2662, the low of November 13 and resistance at 1.2827, the high of November 6.
The euro found some support after official data earlier showed that the euro zone's trade surplus expanded to EUR11.3 billion in September, more than the expected rise to EUR10.6 billion, from a surplus of EUR9.9 billion the previous month.
But sentiment on the single currency remained fragile after the European Central Bank said in a report that the euro zone's current account surplus narrowed more-than-expected in August, declining to EUR0.8 billion from an upwardly revised EUR10.9 billion the previous month.
Analysts had expected the current account surplus to narrow to EUR9.2 billion in August.
The report added to concerns over the worsning of the debt crisis in the euro zone after official data on Thursday showed that the region's economy shrank 0.1% in the third quarter, following a contraction of 0.2% in the preceding quarter. A technical recession is defined as two straight quarters of contraction.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious ahead of highly anticipated talks between U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers on how to resolve the country’s "fiscal cliff" later in the day. Approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1.
There are fears the U.S. economy will fall back into a recession, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise before then.
Elsewhere, the euro was lower against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBP and EUR/JPY both dropping 0.34% to hit 0.8027 and 103.39 respectively.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on the capacity utilization rate and industrial production, as well as a report on the balance of domestic and foreign securities purchases.
EUR/USD hit 1.2725 during European afternoon trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2748, shedding 0.25%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2662, the low of November 13 and resistance at 1.2827, the high of November 6.
The euro found some support after official data earlier showed that the euro zone's trade surplus expanded to EUR11.3 billion in September, more than the expected rise to EUR10.6 billion, from a surplus of EUR9.9 billion the previous month.
But sentiment on the single currency remained fragile after the European Central Bank said in a report that the euro zone's current account surplus narrowed more-than-expected in August, declining to EUR0.8 billion from an upwardly revised EUR10.9 billion the previous month.
Analysts had expected the current account surplus to narrow to EUR9.2 billion in August.
The report added to concerns over the worsning of the debt crisis in the euro zone after official data on Thursday showed that the region's economy shrank 0.1% in the third quarter, following a contraction of 0.2% in the preceding quarter. A technical recession is defined as two straight quarters of contraction.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious ahead of highly anticipated talks between U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers on how to resolve the country’s "fiscal cliff" later in the day. Approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1.
There are fears the U.S. economy will fall back into a recession, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise before then.
Elsewhere, the euro was lower against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBP and EUR/JPY both dropping 0.34% to hit 0.8027 and 103.39 respectively.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on the capacity utilization rate and industrial production, as well as a report on the balance of domestic and foreign securities purchases.