Investing.com - The dollar turned higher against the other major currencies on Friday, as the release of upbeat U.S. employment data helped alleviate ongoing political tensions in Washington.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 209,000 jobs last month, blowing past expectations for an increase of 183,000. The U.S. economy added 231,000 jobs in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 222,000 rise.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3% in July from 4.4% the previous month, in line with expectations.
The report also showed that average hourly earnings increased by 0.3% last month, in line with forecasts and after a 0.2% gain in June.
The dollar had weakened following reports Special Counsel Robert Mueller issued grand jury subpoenas amid an ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
According to Reuters, the subpoenas issued were reported to be in connection to a June 2016 meeting which involved Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner and a Russian lawyer.
The greenback had been under constant pressure recently amid worries over political turmoil in Washington and recent lackluster economic reports, which have raised doubts over whether the Federal Reserve will raise rates again this year.
EUR/USD shed 0.26% to 1.1839.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD fell 0.25% to 1.3107. The pound was still vulnerable after the Bank of England left interest rates on hold at record lows and cut its economic growth forecast for this year and next.
USD/JPY climbed 0.53% to 110.60, while USD/CHF added 0.19% to trade at 0.9703.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7954 and with NZD/USD at 0.7440.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD eased up 0.09% to trade at 1.2591 after Statistics Canada said the number of employed people increased by 10,900 in July, surpassing expectations for a rise of 10,000 and after a 45,300 climb the previous month.
The unemployment rate fell to 6.3% last month from 6.5% in June, confounding expectations for an unchanged reading.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.22% at 92.91, off session lows of 92.58 and pulling away from Wednesday’s 15-month low of 92.39.