Investing.com – The dollar retreated from 2018 highs amid weaker than expected U.S. labor market data but losses were limited as expectations for a Federal Reserve June rate hike remained intact.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose by 0.12% to 92.39. The greenback rose to its highest level in 2018 after hitting an intraday of 92.75.
The U.S. economy created 164,000 in April, above the 135,000 jobs created in March, according to a report released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor. But that missed economists’ forecast for 189,000.
The jobless rate fell to 3.9%, beating economists’ forecasts for a 0.1% decline to 4%. Average hourly earnings grew 0.1% for April, below expectations for a 0.2% increase.
BNP Paribas said the softer nonfarm payrolls print would not have a “substantial” impact on the Federal Reserve monetary policy decisions as employment gains remained above its estimated breakeven.
The bank also said it expected wage growth would persist despite uncertainty as to why tightness in the labor market was not translating into wage growth.
“Deceleration in wage growth was surprising given such signs of labor market tightness. Why this tightness is not feeding into greater average hourly earnings growth remains a bit of a puzzle,” BNP Paribas .
Dollar strength was also underpinned by ongoing weakness in the both the pound and the euro as both pairs were set to post a third-straight weekly loss.
GBP/USD fell 0.22% to $1.1964, while EUR/USD fell 0.21% to $1.1963.
USD/JPY fell 0.19% to Y108.98, while USD/CAD fell 0.06% to C$1.2845.