Forex - EUR/USD steady ahead of G20 summit

The euro was steady against the U.S. dollar on Friday, as investors eyed the upcoming G20 meeting, to begin later in the day, while Thursday's downbeat euro zone data conntinued to weigh.

EUR/USD hit 1.3393 during late Asian trade, the session higher; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3371, adding 0.06%.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.3287, the low of January 24 and resistance at 1.3456, Thursday's high.

The euro remained under pressure after official data on Thursday showed that euro zone gross domestic product contracted by 0.6% in the three months to December, compared to expectations for a 0.4% decline, after a 0.1% contraction in the third quarter.

It was the fastest rate of decline since 2009 and marked a third consecutive quarter of contraction.

In addition, Germany’s economy, the euro zone’s largest, contracted by 0.6% in the in the fourth quarter, more than expectations for a 0.5% drop on declining exports and investment.

The euro was lower against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBPedging down 0.12% to hit 0.8613, and with EUR/JPY sliding 0.30%, to hit 123.69.

The yen found some support a day after the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged, in a widely expected decision.

The BoJ refrained from expanding its stimulus program following its policy setting meeting, as investors looked ahead to the meeting of finance ministers from the G20 in Moscow, amid concerns that Japan could come under pressure following the recent steep decline in the yen.

Later in the day, the euro zone was to publish data on the trade balance, while Spain is to hold an auction of 10-year government bonds.

The U.S. was to publish data on manufacturing activity in New York state and industrial production, while the University of Michigan was to release preliminary data on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.