Investing.com - The greenback remained unchanged on Friday as wage inflation in the U.S. supported the Federal Reserve’s pause on interest rate hikes.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.02% to 96.947 as of 10:07 AM ET (14:07 GMT).
Nonfarm payrolls rose more than expected, but average hourly earnings grew at a slower pace than anticipated, indicating that inflation pressure has decreased. The numbers support the Fed’s decision to extend its pause on hiking rates.
Meanwhile, trade talks were in focus, as the U.S. and China conceded that progress had been made. Still, the U.S. President Donald Trump declined to announce a trade summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, saying it would be at least four or more weeks until a trade deal was signed.
The dollar rose against the safe-haven yen, with USD/JPY gaining 0.04% to 111.68.
Elsewhere, sterling fell even as the U.K. has asked the European Union for yet another extension until June 39. The U.K. had originally been due to leave the EU on March 29, but the deadline was pushed back to April 12 to allow the U.K. parliament more time to approve the withdrawal agreement, which it has been unable to do.
GBP/USD slumped 0.4% to 1.3026.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD rose 0.2% to 1.3381 and EUR/USD inched up 0.04% to 1.1222.