Investing.com - The dollar pared gains against the other major currencies on Friday, but it remained supported by U.S. employment data and as concerns over Chinese volatility continued to subside.
USD/JPY added 0.18% to 117.87, 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 slid 0.27% to 1.0904.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD down 0.41% at 1.4557, near the previous session’s five-year low of 1.4529, and with USD/CHF rising 0.26% to 0.9958.
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 and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.49% at 0.6977 and with NZD/USD tumbling 1.12% to 0.6551.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD held steady at 1.4119, 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 0.33% at 98.62, after rising to highs of 99.26 earlier in the session.