Investing.com - The euro was steady against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as investors were eyeing the release of U.S. home sales data later in the trading session, while Thursday's globally positive U.S. economic reports continued to lend support to the greenback.
EUR/USD hit 1.3702 during European afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3710, easing 0.06%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3654, the low of January 27 and resistance at 1.3774, the high of February 19.
The dollar remained supported after the Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by 3,000 to 336,000, slightly below expectations for a decline of 4,000.
The Labor Department also said U.S. consumer prices rose 1.6% on a year-over-year basis in January, in line with forecasts. Consumer prices were 0.1% higher from a month earlier, also matching forecasts.
Core consumer prices, which strip out food and energy costs, were also up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis and 0.1% from the previous month.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the euro remained fragile after the Markit euro zone composite output purchasing managers’ index on Thursday ticked down to a two-month low of 52.7 this month, but remained close to January’s 31-month high of 52.9.
A modest pickup in euro zone service sector activity was offset by an easing the rate of manufacturing output. However, manufacturing activity continued to outperform services activity, due in large part to strong export demand from outside the euro area.
Germany’s composite output index rose to a 32-month high this month, but France’s composite index fell to a two-month low, as service sector activity declined at the fastest rate in nine months.
The euro was lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP edging down 0.15% to 0.8224.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on existing homes sales.