Euro Strengthens Against Majors

The euro spiked up against most major currencies in European deals on Friday, as investors monitored ongoing Greek negotiations, with the Mediterranean nation aiming to clinch a deal with its creditors by Sunday.

Speaking on the sidelines of G7 meeting, EU Commissioner on Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici told that Greece's negotiations has been progressing in recent days and a Greek exit is not on cards.

Moscovici's comments contradicted to those made by International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, who said Greece's exit from the Eurozone is a possibility, but it would probably not be an end to the euro.

Greek government is of the view that a deal could be struck by Sunday, as time is too short to meet its payment to the IMF next week.

Meanwhile, uncertainty over Greece's ability to reach a deal with its creditors undermined European stocks.

Preliminary figures from the statistical office Destatis showed that Germany's retail sales increased at a faster-than-expected pace in April, after declining in the previous two months.

Retail sales climbed a seasonally and calender-adjusted 1.7 percent month-over-month in April, in contrast to a 1.4 percent decline in March.

The euro has been lower against its major rivals, except the yen, in Asian trading.

In European trading, the euro rose to a 4-day high of 1.0989 against the greenback, 10-day high of 0.7198 against the pound and an 11-day high of 136.00 against the yen, off early lows of 1.0925, 0.7139 and 135.42, respectively. The next possible resistance for the euro may be located around 1.12 against the greenback, 0.725 against the pound and 136.5 against the yen.

The 19-nation currency strengthened to more than a 3-week high of 1.4350 against the aussie and a 3-1/2-month high of 1.5415 against the NZ dollar, bouncing off from its previous lows of 1.4275 and 1.5243, respectively. If the euro extends rise, it may challenge resistance around 1.45 against the aussie and 1.57 against the kiwi.

Reversing an early low of 1.3592 against the loonie, the euro edged up to 1.3659. Next key resistance for the euro may be located around the 1.376 mark.

Looking ahead, the first quarter Canada GDP data, second estimate of U.S. GDP data for first quarter and University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for May are due in the New York session.