Investing.com - The dollar fell to three-week lows against the other majors currencies on Wednesday, after data showed that U.S. non-farm private employment rose much less than expected in October and as uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. presidential election weighed.
EUR/USD gained 0.37% to 1.1097, the highest since October 11.
Payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose 147,000 last month, below forecasts for an increase of 165,000.
The economy created 202,000 jobs in September, whose figure was upwardly revised from a previously reported increase of 154,000.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious after the FBI said last Friday that it would review more emails related to Hillary Clinton's private email use while she was secretary of state.
The news sparked fresh uncertainty over Mrs. Clinton’s election prospects ahead of the November 8 vote, amid fears over the implications of a victory for Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD advanced 0.66% to 1.2324.
The pound strengthened after research group Markit said its U.K. construction purchasing managers’ index rose to 52.6 in October from September’s 52.3. Economists had expected the index to tick down to 51.8.
But gains were expected to remain limited as ratings agency Moody’s warned that it could downgrade Britain’s credit rating if Brexit causes U.K. companies to lose access to the EU single market.
Moody’s currently rates the U.K. as Aa1 after a downgrade on June 24, in the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum.
USD/JPY dropped 0.87% to 103.23, while USD/CHF slid 0.39% to 0.9716.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.20% to 0.7667 and with NZD/USD rallying 1.45% to 0.7289.
Earlier Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that building approvals dropped 8.7% in September, compared to expectations for a 3.0% slide and after a 1.8% fall the previous month.
At the same time, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand said its inflation expectations for the next two years remained unchanged at 1.7% in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged down 0.19% to trade at 1.3364.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.47% at 97.31, the lowest since October 11.