Euro rises on upbeat French and Spanish data; US economic reports eyed

The common currency climbed against its US counterpart on Friday, underpinned by positive French and Spanish data, while markets were anticipating the release of highly-anticipated U.S. economic reports due later in the day.

EUR/USD hit 1.1243 during European afternoon trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.1225, rising 0.24%. Cable was likely to find support at 1.1097, the low of January 26 and resistance at 1.1380, Thursday's high.

The euro was little changed against the pound, with EUR/GBP at 0.7270.

According to official data issued earlier, French consumer spending rose 0.6% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.5% fall. December's figure was revised to a 1.6% increase from a previously estimated 1.5% gain.

Spanish consumer prices slipped at an annualized rate of 1.1% this month, compared to expectations for a 1.5% drop, after a 1.3% fall in January, according to a separate report.

However, market players remained wary amid lingering doubts over the agreement to extend Greece’s bailout after both the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank warned that the country's reform plans are not detailed enough.

In the meantime, sentiment on the dollar was fragile after the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits increased by 31,000 to 313,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 282,000. U.S. consumer prices declined 0.7% last month, compared to estimates for a decline of 0.6%, while core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy costs, increased by 0.2% in January, above expectations for a 0.1% increase.

On a more positive note, the U.S. Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders increased by 2.8% last month, above expectations for a gain of 1.7%, while core durable goods orders, excluding volatile transportation items, inched up 0.3% in January, disappointing forecasts for a 0.5% gain.

Later on, markets expect the U.S. to release revised data on fourth quarter growth, as well as reports on pending home sales, business activity in the Chicago region and consumer sentiment.