Investing.com - The euro was lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the release of mixed economic reports from the euro zone, while the greenback regained some strength ahead of a fourth-quarter U.S. growth report due later in the day.
EUR/USD hit 1.0883 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0908, sliding 0.30%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0816, the low of January 26 and resistance at 1.0987, the high of January 15.
Preliminary data on Friday showed that the annual rate of inflation in the euro zone rose by 0.4% this month, in line with expectations and after an uptick of 0.2% in December.
The European Central Bank targets annual inflation of close to, but just below 2%.
Core CPI, which excludes out food and energy costs, increased by 1.0% in January, exceeding forecasts for a 0.9% rise and after a 0.9% gain.
Earlier Friday, data showed that German retail sales fell 0.2% in December, compared to expectations for a 0.5% gain and after a revised 0.4% increase the previous month.
A separate report showed that Spain’s gross domestic product grew 0.8% in the fourth quarter, matching forecasts.
The euro was lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP down 0.23% at 0.7599, but sharply higher against the yen, with EUR/JPY up 1.46% at a one-month peak of 131.84.
The yen weakened broadly after the Bank of Japan surprised markets by announcing a negative interest rate policy.
At the conclusion of its monetary policy meeting on Friday, the BOJ said it was adopting a negative interest rate of minus 0.1% and added that it will cut interest rates further into negative territory if necessary.
The central bank’s decision came as it struggles to reach its 2% inflation goal amid ongoing concerns over global economic growth and declining oil prices.