Investing.com - The euro extended earlier gains against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as demand for the greenback weakened after data showed that U.S. new home sales rose less-than-expected last month.
EUR/USD hit 1.2695 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's highest since October 22; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2685, rising 0.30%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2582, the low of October 7 and resistance at 1.2769, the high of October 14.
The dollar came under pressure after official data showed that U.S. new home sales rose 0.2% lat month to 467,000 units, below expectations for an increase to 470,000 units.
August's figure was downwardly revised to a 15.3% climb to 466,000 units from a previously estimated 18.0% jump to 504,000 units.
Earlier in the week, the National Association of Realtors reported that U.S. existing home sales increased 2.4% to a 5.17 million units last month from 5.05 million in August. Analysts had expected existing home sales to rise 1% to 5.10 million units in September.
Meanwhile, the euro remained supported after data earlier showed that the Gfk German consumer climate index rose to 8.5 in October from 8.4 in September, whose figure was revised up from a previously estimated reading of 8.3.
Analysts had expected the index to fall to 8.0 this month.
But investors remained cautious after The New York Times reported earlier Friday that a doctor in New York City, identified as Craig Spencer, tested positive for the Ebola virus after returning from treating patients in West Africa.
The euro was steady against the pound, with EUR/GBP easing 0.07% to 0.7883.
In the U.K., preliminary data on Friday showed that the gross domestic product rose 0.7% in the third quarter, in line with expectations, after a 0.9% increase in the three months to June.
Year-on-year, Britain's GDP rose at an annualized rate of 3.0% in the last quarter, as markets had anticipated, down from a 3.2% growth rate in the second quarter.