Investing.com - The euro was lower on Friday while the dollar rose amid geopolitical concerns.
The euro remained under pressure despite easing political tensions in Italy. Populist parties Five-Star and League formed a government on Thursday and received the approval from the president. Meanwhile in Spain, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faces a vote of no-confidence, which is expected to pass on Friday.
EUR/USD inched down 0.04% to 1.1686 by 5:24 AM ET (9:24 AM GMT), hovering near a six-month low.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.09% to 94.03.
Investors were looking ahead to the nonfarm payrolls data, often seen as an indicator of the health of the U.S. economy, at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT). Traders will pay close attention to wage data and any clues that the Federal Reserve could increase interest rates.
The Fed raised rates in March and is expected to raise rates twice more, including at its next meeting in June.
Trade tensions continued after the U.S. announced it was going ahead with tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from the EU, Canada and Mexico, prompting fears of a full-blown trade war. All three have said they plan to retaliate.
The dollar was higher against the safe-haven yen, with USD/JPY up 0.34% to 109.18.
The pound was slightly down, with GBP/USD falling 0.02% to 1.3293.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar was lower, with AUD/USD down 0.36% at 0.7541, while NZD/USD slumped 0.21% to 0.6986.