Dollar drops on weak U.S. December jobs data

Investing.com - The greenback slumped against most major currencies on Friday after official data revealed the U.S. economy picked up a fraction of the new jobs in December that markets were expecting, which fanned concerns the Federal Reserve will take its time dismantling stimulus programs.

U.S. trading on Friday, EUR/USD was up 0.43% at 1.3667.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported earlier that the U.S. economy added 74,000 jobs in December, well below expectations for a 196,000 increase and below an upwardly revised 241,000 rise the previous month.

The U.S. private sector added 87,000 jobs last month, disappointing expectations for 195,000 rise, after an upwardly increase of 226,000 in November.

The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in December due to a weak participation rate, down from 7.0% in November. Analysts had expected the rate to remain unchanged last month.

The numbers weakened the dollar by fueling expectations for the Federal Reserve to trim its USD75 billion monthly bond-buying program at a slower pace than once expected.

Fed asset purchases tend to weaken the dollar by suppressing long-term interest rates.

Still, sentiments began to build in the session that one disappointing jobs report may not be enough to prompt the Fed to overlook several weeks of positive data as it decides when to scale back asset purchases, which gave the dollar some support.

Talk cold, wintry weather may have prompted businesses to put off hiring also curbed the greenback's losses.

The euro rose on the disappointing data though it still faced headwinds after ECB President Mario Draghi on Thursday reinforced the bank’s forward guidance on rates and said the bank was still ready to ready to take "further decisive action" if needed.

Draghi reiterated that monetary policy will remain accommodative for as long as is needed in order to assist the economic recovery in the euro area. The ECB expects interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time, he said.

Elsewhere on Friday, official data showed that industrial production in France climbed 1.3% in November, exceeding expectations for a 0.4% rise, after a downwardly revised 0.5% decline the previous month.

The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.05% at 1.6474.

The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.76% at 104.05, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.40% at 0.9033.

The dollar was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.48% at 1.0894, AUD/USD up 1.08% at 0.8996 and NZD/USD trading up 0.56% at 0.8300.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.38% at 80.76.