WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar lost ground against most of its major counterparts on Friday after data showed a much smaller than expected increase in non-farm payroll employment in the month of April.
The weaker than expected data reinforced the view the Federal Reserve will leave ultra-easy monetary policy in place for the foreseeable future.
Data from the Labor Department showed non-farm payroll employment in the U.S. increased by far less than expected in the month of April, rising by 266,000 jobs, after surging by a downwardly revised 770,000 jobs in March.
Economists had expected employment to spike by 978,000 jobs compared to the jump of 916,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The report also showed the unemployment rate inched up to 6.1% in April from 6% in March. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to drop to 5.8%.
The Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing wholesale inventories in the U.S. jumped by slightly less than anticipated in the month of March.
The report said wholesale inventories surged up by 1.3% in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 1% in February. Economists had expected wholesale inventories to spike by 1.4% compared to the 0.6% increase originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar index dropped to 90.19, sliding 0.85% from previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar weakened to $1.2167, from Thursday's close of $1.2065. The Pound Sterling was stronger by nearly 0.8%, fetching $1.3998 a unit of Sterling.
The Yen firmed up to 108.60 a dollar, gaining from 109.09 Thursday evening. The services sector in Japan continued to contract in April, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Friday with a services PMI score of 49.5. That was up from 48.3 in March,
The Aussie was stronger with the AUD-USD at 0.7845, firming up from 0.7782.
The Swiss franc gained about 0.7%, firming up to 0.9010 from 0.9073. Switzerland's jobless rate decreased in April, data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed. The jobless rate fell a seasonally to 3.1% in April from 3.3% in March. Economists had expected a rate of 3.3%.
The Loonie gained marginally at 1.2135 a dollar. Data released by Statistics Canada showed employment in Canada decreased by 207,100 in April after seen an increase of over 303,000 in the previous month. Full-time employment dropped by 129,400 in the month, while part-time employment decreased to -77,800.
The data also showed unemployment rate in Canada rose to 8.1% in April, up from 7.5% in March.
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