WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Dollar drifted lower against its major counterparts on Friday after the Labor Department's report showed much weaker than expected job growth in the month of December.
The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 199,000 jobs in December after climbing by an upwardly revised 249,000 jobs in November. Economists had expected employment to jump by 400,000 jobs compared to the addition of 210,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Despite the weaker than expected job growth, the unemployment rate slid to 3.9% in December from 4.2% in November. The unemployment rate was expected to edge down to 4.1%.
With the bigger than expected decrease, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since hitting 3.5% in February of 2020.
The dollar index has dropped to 95.71, losing more than 0.6% from Thursday's closing level.
Against the Euro, the dollar weakened to $1.1361, falling more than 0.5% from $1.1300. Eurozone's inflation accelerated further in December to set a fresh record high, rising 5% year-on-year after a 4.9 percent increase in November. Economists had expected the figure to ease to 4.7%.
The dollar is trading at $1.3597 against Pound Sterling, losing ground from $1.3531.
The dollar is trading at 115.57 yen compared to 115.84 yen on Thursday. Against the Aussie, the dollar has weakened to $0.7181 from $0.7162.
The Swiss franc has firmed to 0.9184 against the dollar, gaining from 0.9212. The dollar is fetching C$1.2637 a unit, compared to the previous close of C$1.2729.
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