Investing.com - The dollar pushed broadly higher against the other major currencies on Friday, boosted by the release of strong U.S. employment data and as concerns over Chinese volatility continued to subside.
USD/JPY jumped 0.90% to 118.73, off the previous session’s four-month low of 116.45.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 292.000 jobs in December, beating expectations for a rise of 200.000. The U.S. economy added 252.000 jobs in November, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 211.000 gain.
The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.0% last month, in line with expectations.
The report also showed that average hourly earnings were flat in December, compared to expectations for a 0.2% rise, after an uptick of 0.2% the previous month.
The dollar also found support after China’s Securities Regulatory Commission suspended the market circuit breaker introduced only on Monday and after the People's Bank of China set a higher yuan guidance rate for the first time in nine days.
EUR/USD tumbled 0.98% to 1.0822.
Elsewhere, the dollar moved higher against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD down 0.36% at 1.4568, near the previous session’s five-year low of 1.4529, and with USD/CHF ralllying 1.04% to 1.0037.
Earlier Friday, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said the trade deficit narrowed to £10.64 billion in November from £11.20 billion in October, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of £11.83 billion.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to £10.50 billion in November.
The Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7011, while NZD/USD slid 0.50% to 0.6593.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged down 0.18% to trade at 1.4086, still close to Thursday’s 12-1/2 year peak of 1.4171.
Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the number of employed people rose by 22.800 in December, exceeding expectations for an increase of 10.000 and after a 35.700 drop the previous month.
Canada’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.1% last month, in line with expectations.
A separate report showed that Canada’s building permits dropped by 19.6% in November, compared to expectations for a 3.0% decline.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.87% at 99.14.