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Forex - Dollar index trims gains after U.S. jobs data

Published 02/03/2017, 08:44 AM
© Reuters.  Dollar pulls away from session highs after nonfarm payrolls report

Investing.com - The dollar trimmed gains against other major currencies on Friday, after the release of mixed U.S. employment data.

EUR/USD was steady at 1.0760, off session lows of 1.0714.

The U.S. Department of Labor said the economy added 227,000 jobs in January, exceeding expectations for an increase of 175,000, The economy added 157,000 jobs in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated gain of 156,000.

However, the report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 4.8% last month from 4.7% in December. Analysts had expected for an unchanged reading in January.

Data also showed that U.S. average hourly earnings rose 0.1% in January, disappointing expectations for an increase of 0.3%.

Sentiment on the greenback has been under pressure in recent weeks as U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies and immigration bans spurred uncertainty in global markets.

Elsewhere, GBP/USD slid 0.30% to trade at 1.2485.

Earlier Friday, market research firm Markit said its U.K. services purchasing managers’ index dropped to 54.5 last month from a reading of 56.2 in December. Analysts had expected the index to fall only to 55.8 in January.

USD/JPY was up 0.15% at 112.95, after rising to 113.44 earlier in the session, while USD/CHF rose 0.26% to trade at 0.9953.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars turned higher, with AUD/USD up 0.18% at 0.7672 and with NZD/USD adding 0.15% to 0.7298.

Data earlier showed that China’s Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index ticked down to 51.0 in January from 51.9 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to slip to 51.8 last month.

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The data fueled fresh concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second biggest economy. China is Australia’s biggest export partner and New Zealand’s second biggest export partner.

Meanwhile, USD/CAD was little changed at 1.3023.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.08% at 99.92, off session highs of 100.30 and still close to Thursday’s two-and-a-half month trough of 99.19.

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