The US dollar rose against most major currencies on Friday, heading for a third consecutive week of gains as market participants saw a mixed April jobs report, which showed a lower than expected pay rise.
The euro fell after the latest update of economic activity in the European region, which came slightly weaker than expected. The US dollar index rose 0.14% to 92.61 points, trading around its highest level since early January. The index was on track for weekly gains of 1.2% which would constitute the third straight week of gains.
EUR/USD dropped 0.2086% to trade at $1.1956 per EUR late on Thursday in New York, making a weekly 1.4% drop. The British pound also fell against the US dollar by 0.32% to below $1.35 on Friday, breaking this level for the first time since January 11. The pair last traded at 1.3535 dollars per pound, down from 1.3573 dollars late on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the yen rose by 0.7%. The yen was the only major currency to rise against the dollar on Friday. The pair traded at 109.09 yen per dollar, and over the past week there was little change on the yen.
The jobs report was somehow mixed, with non-farm payrolls below forecasts, at 164,000 versus 188,000 expected, and monthly wage gains of 0.1% compared to expectations of 0.2%. However, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% from 4.1%, hitting its lowest level since late 2000.
The dollar saw volatile trading immediately after the release, shedding modest gains.
Job data is among the figures the Fed uses to determine its monetary policy, so a surprisingly good or bad number tends to influence the state of policy changes. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, but did not give the market further indicators of future policy. Further interest rate increases are expected this year, after rising once in March.
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