Investing.com - The euro steadied against the dollar on Friday, taking back earlier losses steaming from upbeat U.S. retail sales data, as a better-than-expected euro area growth report fueled demand for the single currency.
In U.S. trading, EUR/USD was up 0.33% at 1.2517, up from a session low of 1.2399 and off a high of 1.2524.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2393, Tuesday's low, and resistance at 1.2578, the high from Nov. 4.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall consumer sentiment index for November hit 89.4, its highest reading since July 2007, beating forecasts for an 87.5 reading.
Also in the U.S., the Census Bureau reported 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 volatile transportation items, increased by 0.3% in October, compared to expectations for a 0.2% gain after a 0.2% contraction the previous month.
Friday's data bolstered expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in 2015, and gave the greenback the edge over the euro earlier, though the single currency bounced back after investors digested upbeat euro area growth figures.
Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office, reported earlier that euro area's gross domestic product rose 0.2% in the third quarter from the second, more than the expected 0.1% uptick.
The bloc's economy expanded at an annual rate of 0.8% in the third 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.
Elsewhere in Europe Eurostat reported that inflation came in 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, also in line with expectations.
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 fueled 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%, though Friday's growth rate eclipsed inflation data, seen by many as already priced into trading.
Elsewhere, the euro was up against the pound, with EUR/GBP up 0.67% at 0.7995, and up against the yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.84% at 145.65.