IForex Daily : May 11, 2014

 | May 11, 2015 05:14AM ET

The dollar advanced on Friday against most major currencies, after data showed that the U.S. economy created slightly less jobs than expected last month, while unemployment declined in line with market expectations. The Department of Labor said that the U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs last month, below expectations for a 224,000 rise. The number of jobs added in March was revised to 85,000 from a previously estimated 126,000. The U.S unemployment rate dropped to 5.4% in April from 5.5%, as expected. In the U.K, the pound reached two-and-a-half month highs after the Conservatives won more than half the seats in the Parliament on Thursday, allowing David Cameron to end a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. The Reserve Bank of Australia's stated in it's monthly policy statement that it is open to further interest rate cuts as Chinese growth is slowing and business investment is weak in in Australia. In Japan, the most central bank board members voted in favor of continuing the bank's aggressive asset-buying program. In the week ahead investors will be turning their attention to U.S. data on retail sales and consumer sentiment for fresh indications on the strength of the economic recovery. The euro zone is to release preliminary estimates on first quarter growth on Wednesday

EUR/USD

The euro fell against the dollar on Friday after the latest U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls report came in just below expectations, while the unemployment rate dropped to the lowest since May 2008 as expected, giving positive growth signals for the U.S economy. In addition, March's payrolls report was revised to show that only 85,000 jobs were created, the fewest since June 2012. The Fed will continue to watch closely on the labor market as it considers when to start raising interest rates, which have been close to zero since December 2008. In the week ahead investors will be turning their attention to U.S. data on retail sales and consumer sentiment for fresh indications on the strength of the economic recovery. The euro zone is to release preliminary estimates on first quarter growth on Wednesday.