WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar firmed against major counterparts on Friday, buoyed by upbeat jobs data and escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Russian forces stepped up their attack on Ukraine and seized the Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
Data released by the Labor Department showed non-farm payroll employment in the U.S. spiked by 678,000 jobs in February after surging by an upwardly revised 481,000 jobs in January.
Economists had expected employment to increase by 400,000 jobs compared to the addition of 467,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
With the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate dipped to 3.8% in February from 4% in January. The unemployment rate was expected to edge down to 3.9%.
The dollar index climbed to 98.92 after the release of the jobs data, and despite paring some gains subsequently, remains firm at 98.52, up 0.75% from the previous close.
Againt the Euro, the dollar has firmed to $1.0930, gaining from $1.1066.
The dollar is trading at $1.3240 against Pound Sterling, strengthening from $1.3349 a unit of the British currency.
The dollar is fetching 114.86 yen a unit, having weakened from 115.47 yen.
Against the Aussie, the dollar weakened to 0.7375 from 0.7329. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia retail sales climbed a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent on month in January - coming in at A$32.491 billion.
The Swiss franc is flat at 0.9172 against the dollar. Meanwhile, the Loonie is at C$1.2733 a dollar, easing from $1.2683 despite oil's sharp rise.
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