The U.S. dollar rose against most major currencies Friday as investors were digesting the mixed nonfarm payroll report from the country.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in January, well below market expectation of 188,000. The unemployment rate, however, edged down to 4.9 percent in January, dipping below 5 percent for the first time since 2008.
In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 12 cents to 25.39 U.S. dollars, beating market estimates. "While employment growth came in a little below expectations, the main takeaway from this jobs report is more relief than disappointment," said Gad Levanon, economist of the New York-based Conference Board, a research institution.
"Overall, the message from the labor market is more positive than the one from the GDP numbers." Meanwhile, the U.S. goods and services deficit came in at 43.4 billion dollars in December, up 1.1 billion dollars from November and on par with market expectations, the Commerce Department announced Friday.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.60 percent at 97.053 in late trading. In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1142 U.S. dollars from 1.1207 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.4499 U.S. dollars from 1.4588 dollars in the previous session.
The Australian dollar inched down to 0.7070 U.S. dollar from 0.7200 dollar. The U.S. dollar bought 116.93 Japanese yen, higher than 116.75 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar fell to 0.9918 Swiss franc from 0.9925 Swiss franc and rose to 1.3893 Canadian dollars from 1.3742 Canadian dollars.
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