Investing.com - The euro remained lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday, despite positive euro zone third quarter growth data, as strong U.S. economic reports sent the greenback broadly higher.
EUR/USD hit 1.2399 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's lowest since November 11; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2451, shedding 0.20%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2357, the low of November 7 and a 26-month low and resistance at 1.2568, the high of November 5.
The dollar strengthened broadly after the University of Michigan said, in a preliminary report, that its consumer sentiment index rose to a more than seven-year high of 89.4 this month from 86.9 in October. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 87.5 in November.
The report came after official data showed that U.S. retail sales rose 0.3% last month, exceeding expectations for a 0.2% gain, after a 0.3% fall in September.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, increased by 0.3% in October, compared to expectations for a 0.2% slip the previous month.
In the euro zone, data showed that inflation was flat in October, in line with market expectations, after a 0.4% rise in September.
The bloc's annual rate of inflation remained unchanged at 0.4% last month.
Core CPI in the euro zone, which excludes food, energy, alcohol and tobacco, ticked down to an annual rate of 0.7% last month from 0.8% in September.
The data fuelled further concerns over persistently low levels of inflation in the euro area. The European Central Bank targets an inflation rate of close to, but just below 2%.
A separate report showed that the euro zone's gross domestic product rose 0.2% in the third quarter, more than the expected 0.1% uptick. The bloc's economy expanded at an annual rate of 0.8% in the last quarter, compared to expectations for 0.7% growth.
Earlier Friday, a preliminary report showed that Germany's GDP rose 0.1% in the last quarter, in line with expectations, after a revised 0.1% contraction in the three months to June.
France's economy grew 0.3% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations for growth of 0.1%, after a contraction of 0.1% in the previous quarter.
The euro was higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP rising 0.28% to 0.7964.