WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar lost ground against its major rivals on Friday after data showing a much smaller than expected increase in the country's job growth in the month of August raised hopes that the central bank might not begin tapering of its bond purchase program anytime soon.
The data showed non-farm payroll employment in the U.S. rose by 235,000 jobs in August after soaring by an upwardly revised 1.053 million jobs in July. Economists had expected employment to rise by about 750,000 jobs in the month, compared to the spike of 943,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The unemployment rate fell to 5.2% in August from 5.4% in July.
The dollar index, which dropped to 91.95 around the time the jobs data was released, remains in negative territory despite having recovered to 92.14.
Against the Euro, the dollar was marginally down at $1.1877, having recovered from a low of 1.1910.
The dollar dropped to 1.3861 against the dollar, climbing down from 1.3817 a dollar. Final survey data from IHS Markit showed that the UK service sector growth weakened in August largely due to supply chain disruptions and the normalization of customer demand after the initial loosening of pandemic restrictions.
The Yen firmed to 109.74 a dollar, gaining from 109.93. The latest survey from Jibun Bank showed that Japan services sector continued to contract in August, and at a faster pace, with a PMI score of 42.9.
Against the Aussie, the dollar weakened to 0.7450, giving up nearly 0.7% from 0.7400. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 2.7% on month in July- coming in at A$29.778
The Swiss franc was little changed against the dollar at 0.9142, while the Loonie firmed to 1.2530 against the dollar, gaining 0.18%.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2021 AFX News
