The was steady against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after positive German consumer climate data as expectations for a near-term end to the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program continued to support demand for the greenback.

EUR/USD hit 1.2943 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2940, easing up 0.04%.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.2834, the low of May 22 and resistance at 1.2998, the high of May 22.

Data showed that the Gfk German consumer climate index rose unexpectedly in May, ticking up to 6.5 from a reading of 6.2 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged this month.

Meanwhile, the dollar remained supported after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday that the bank could begin tapering its bond-buying program.

In testimony to the U.S. Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday, Fed Chairman Bernanke said a decision to scale back the Fed’s asset purchase program could be taken in the “next few meetings” if economic data continued to improve.

The euro was higher against the pound with EUR/GBP adding 0.13%, to hit 0.8570.

Later in the day, the Ifo Institute was to release a closely watched report on German business climate, while the U.S. was to publish government data on durable goods orders.

Most Asian stocks traded lower Thursday after a surprisingly weak May flash reading of China’s Purchasing Managers Index, but Japanese stocks held up despite the news.
In Asian trading Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.68%, touching its highest levels since late 2007 after USD/JPY traded slightly higher.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng plunged 1.7% while the [...]

Most Asian bourses traded higher Wednesday as traders await the conclusion of the Bank of Japan’s two-day monetary policy meeting.
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The U.S. dollar traded mixed to higher against most major currencies on Wednesday after spotty data out of Europe bolstered the greenback’s safe-haven appeal.
Rising Japanese stock prices, the product of a weaker yen and Bank of Japan policies, also pushed up the dollar.
In Asian trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was up 0.03% at 1.2944.
Data out of [...]

The Australian dollar traded higher against its U.S. rival during Tuesday’s Asian, but the Aussie is still laboring below parity against the greenback after earlier flirting with 11-month lows against the U.S. currency.
In Asian trading Tuesday, AUD/USD rose 0.28% to 0.9981. The pair was likely to find support at 0.9922, the low of June [...]

The Australian dollar traded lower against its U.S. rival during Monday’s Asian session despite some stronger-than-expected home loans data.
In Asian trading Monday, AUD/USD fell 0.33% to 0.9989, taking Aussie slightly below parity against the greenback, a scenario traders speculated about last week. The pair is likely to find support at 0.9960, Friday’s low and [...]