Investing.com - The U.S. dollar fell on Friday after the economy added fewer jobs than expected in August, in what analysts took as a sign that the economy remains near to full employment.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.1% to 98.285 as of 9:01 AM ET (13:01 GMT). That was due largely to a drop against the loonie, which rose to a one-month high after Canada's employment report - posted at the same time - showed a much stronger than expected increase in employment.
By 9 AM, USD/CAD was at 1.3184, compared to 1.3340 earlier in the week before the Bank of Canada's policy meeting.
The Japanese yen, seen as a safe-haven in times of market turmoil, also strengthened to 106.82 against the dollar from 107.00 before the report.
Nonfarm payrolls came in at 130,000 in August, the Labor Department reported, which was much less than the 160,000 expected. Still, the participation rate ticked up slightly, while average hourly earnings rose 0.4%, beating forecasts. The unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7%.
Overall, markets still see a 92% chance that Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its policy meeting later this month.
Meanwhile sterling fell after the High Court in London ruled that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s attempt to close parliament next week was legal. The ruling is expected to be appealed in the Supreme Court, but increases uncertainty about whether or not the U.K. will leave the EU on Oct. 31 with or without a deal. Lawmakers took took control of Parliament this week, and denied Johnson’s request for a snap election, voting to force Johnson to put off Brexit for the third time.
GBP/USD fell 0.2% to 1.2306 while EUR/USD rose 0.1% to 1.1040.