Forex - EUR/USD pushes lower on euro zone worries

The euro pushed lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as the release of disappointing euro zone data sparked fresh concerns over the outlook for growth in the single currency bloc. 

EUR/USD hit 1.2969 during European afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3006, shedding 0.31%. 

The pair was likely to find support at 1.2934, Thursday's low and resistance at 1.3116, the high of April 29. 

The euro came under pressure after official data showed that the unemployment rate in the euro zone rose to a new record high of 12.2% in April, from 12.1% the previous month, in line with expectations. 

Separately, a preliminary report showed that the bloc's consumer price index rose to an annualized rate of 1.4% this month, from 1.2% in April, as anticipated. 

The data came after Destatits said that German retail sales fell 0.4% in April, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% rise, after a 0.1% decline the previous month. 

Meanwhile, investors were eyeing U.S. economic reports later in the day, after downbeat data on Thursday dampened expectations for the Federal Reserve to scale down its stimulus program in the near future. 

The euro was also lower against the pound with EUR/GBP declining 0.32%, to hit 0.8536. 

Earlier Friday, the Bank of England said that net lending to individuals rose by GBP1.4 billion in April, beating expectations for a GBP0.9 billion increase, after a GBP1.1 billion rise the previous month. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release revised data on consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan, as well as data on personal income and expenditure and a report on manufacturing activity in Chicago.

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