Investing.com - The euro was steady against the U.S. dollar on Friday, hovering near six-week highs as markets eye a meeting of euro zone finance ministers to be held later in the day, while Thursday's upbeat U.S. jobless data continued to support the greenback.
EUR/USD hit 13127 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3107, easing up 0.04%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3044, Thursday's low and resistance at 1.3158, the high of February 28.
Investors remained cautious as the Eurogroup of finance ministers was to meet later in the day Dublin and were expected to discuss whether to give Ireland and Portugal an extension on their bailout loan repayments.
Cyprus was are also slated to be discussed at the meeting, after the country's government confirmed on Thursday that the cost of its bailout has risen to EUR23 billion EUR17.5 billion.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained mildly supported after the Department of Labor on Thursday said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell by 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000, last week compared to expectations for a decrease of 23,000 to 365,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 388,000 from a previously reported increase of 385,000.
The data eased concerns that the recovery in the labor market was losing momentum after U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for March came in far below expectations.
The euro was also steady against the pound with EUR/GBP dipping 0.03%, to hit 0.8514.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to produce official data on industrial production, while the U.S. was to release official data on retail sales, producer price inflation and business inventories, as well as preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.
EUR/USD hit 13127 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3107, easing up 0.04%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3044, Thursday's low and resistance at 1.3158, the high of February 28.
Investors remained cautious as the Eurogroup of finance ministers was to meet later in the day Dublin and were expected to discuss whether to give Ireland and Portugal an extension on their bailout loan repayments.
Cyprus was are also slated to be discussed at the meeting, after the country's government confirmed on Thursday that the cost of its bailout has risen to EUR23 billion EUR17.5 billion.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained mildly supported after the Department of Labor on Thursday said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell by 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000, last week compared to expectations for a decrease of 23,000 to 365,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 388,000 from a previously reported increase of 385,000.
The data eased concerns that the recovery in the labor market was losing momentum after U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for March came in far below expectations.
The euro was also steady against the pound with EUR/GBP dipping 0.03%, to hit 0.8514.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to produce official data on industrial production, while the U.S. was to release official data on retail sales, producer price inflation and business inventories, as well as preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.