Investing.com - The euro tumbled to six-month lows against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as the release of strong U.S. employment data increased the possibility of a U.S. rate hike before the end of the year.
EUR/USD hit 1.0708 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's lowest since April 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0744, down 1.28%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0664, the low of April 23 and resistance at 1.0894, the session high.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 271.000 jobs last month, exceeding expectations for a 180.000 rise. The U.S. economy added 137.000 jobs in September, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated increase of 142.000.
The U.S. unemployment rate ticked down to 5.0% in October from 5.1% the previous month. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged last month.
The report also showed that average hourly earnings rose 0.4% last month, more than the expected 0.2% gain, after a flat reading in September.
The strong data added to expectations for the U.S. to raise interest rates after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that a December rate hike is a "live possibility," depending on economic data.
The euro was also lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP dropping 0.46% to 0.7125.
In the U.K., the Office for National Statistics earlier reported that manufacturing production rose 0.8% in September, beating expectations for a 0.4% gain.
The report also showed that U.K. industrial production fell 0.2% in September, compared to expectations for a 0.1% downtick.
Another report showed that the U.K. trade deficit narrowed to £9.35 billion in September from a revised deficit of £10.79 billion in August. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to £10.60 billion in September.