Forex - EUR/USD slips lower but remains supported

Investing.com - The euro slipped against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as investors awaited the release of highly anticipated U.S. jobs data later in the day, although comments by European Central Bank head Mario Draghi continued to support the single currency.

EUR/USD hit 1.3080 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3083, slipping 0.19%.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.2975, Thursday's low and resistance at 1.3158, the high of February 28.

The dollar gained ground after the Department of Labor said on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits fell by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000 last week, compared to expectations for an increase of 8,000 to 355,000.

The upbeat data fuelled optimism over a recovery in the U.S. labor market.

Meanwhile, the euro remained supported after ECB President Draghi on Thursday said monetary policy will remain firmly accommodative and added that confidence was returning to financial markets.

Speaking at the ECB’s post-policy meeting press conference, Draghi said policymakers discussed a rate cut but the "prevailing consensus" was to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.75%.

In addition, the ECB revised down economic forecasts for 2013, with euro zone gross domestic product now expected to contract by between 0.1% and 0.9% from a previous forecast for growth of between 0.3% and a contraction of 0.9%.

The euro was steady against the pound with EUR/GBP dipping 0.02%, to hit 0.8729.

Later in the day, Germany was to release official data on industrial production, while the U.S. was publish government data on nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate, as well as data on average hourly earnings.