Forex - EUR/USD near 6-week lows on Fed comments

FTS Forex Trading:- The euro edged down against the U.S. dollar on Friday, to trade near six-week lows after a regional Federal Reserve chairman said the U.S. central bank may taper its asset buying program as soon as this summer. 

EUR/USD hit 1.2851 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2858, slipping 0.17%. 

The pair was likely to find support at 1.2772, the low of April 1 and resistance at 1.2942, the high of May 15. 

The greenback strengthened broadly after John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said the Fed could begin reducing its monetary easing this summer and end bond buying late this year. 

Meanwhile, the euro remained under pressure after a string of weak economic reports fuelled speculation over an additional rate cut by the European Central Bank. 

On Wednesday, data showed that the euro zone economy contracted by 0.2% in the three months to March bringing the annualized rate of decline to 0.9%. 

The euro was steady against the pound with EUR/GBP inching up 0.06%, to hit 0.8441. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.