Dollar remains mixed vs. rivals ahead of Yellen testimony

Investing.com - The dollar remained mixed against the other major currencies on Friday, as investors were awaiting Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen's testimony on the bank’s semiannual monetary policy report later this week.

The dollar was little changed against the euro, with EUR/USD up 0.03% to 1.3639.

The dollar remained under pressure after the Labor Department on Friday said the U.S. economy added 113,000 jobs in January, well below expectations for 185,000 new jobs, as inclement weather contributed to the slowdown in hiring.

The report also showed that the number of people participating in the labor force edged up to 63% from a 30-year low of 62.8% last month, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked down to a five year low 6.6% from 6.7% in December.

The report was seen as unlikely to prompt the Federal Reserve to halt reductions in its stimulus program. The bank announced a second cut to its asset purchase program in January, trimming it to $65 billion-per-month.

Meanwhile, the single currency's gains were limited as Germany's constitutional Court ruled last week that the European Central Bank’s bond-buying program may exceed its mandate, and referred it to European Court of Justice.

Earlier Monday, official data showed that French industrial production fell 0.3% in December, compared to expectations for a 0.1% uptick. Industrial production in November was revised down to a 1.2% increase from a previously estimated 1.3% rise.

The pound was steady against the dollar, with GBP/USD easing 0.01% to 1.6411.

The dollar was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY falling 0.20% to 102.13 and with USD/CHF edging down 0.14% to 0.8970.

In Japan, government data showed that the current account deficit expanded to JPY0.20 trillion in December, from JPY0.05 trillion the previous month. Analysts had expected the current account deficit to expand to JPY0.06 trillion in December.

The greenback was mixed to higher against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD shedding 0.22% to 0.8939, NZD/USD slipping 0.26% to 0.8274 and USD/CAD adding 0.11% to 1.1045.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.03% to 80.73.

Trading volumes were expected to remain light, with no U.S. economic reports to be released throughout the session.

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