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US jobs data send dollar to six-week high against euro

The US dollar hit a six-week high against the euro on Friday after the publication of US non-farm payrolls data which showed that job creation in the world's biggest economy picked up last month.

The euro slipped to US$1.3003 in late New York trading from US$1.3082 on Thursday.

Earlier it had slipped below the US$1.30-dollar level for the first time since Nov. 24.

The dollar fell to ¥118.61 from ¥119.01 late on Thursday, while the British pound was quoted at US$1.9291 from US$1.9428 a day earlier. In late New York trade, the US dollar edged up to 1.2355 Swiss francs from SF1.2327 on Thursday.

Official data from the Labor Department showed that the US economy had added 167,000 jobs last month -- far more than the 100,000 forecast by Wall Street. The job creation figures for October and November were also revised upwards.

The latest assessment cut short any lingering talk that the US Federal Reserve might cut interest rates in the coming months, analysts said.

"The payrolls data have put paid to any thought of a Fed rate cut and investors will be picking through upcoming data very carefully," said Paul Bednarczyk, currency analyst at 4CAST.

Analysts also pointed to an unchanged US unemployment rate and a rise in hourly wages as further evidence the Fed would be unlikely to cut rates.

The yen garnered support on Friday from a report in the Yomiuri Shimbun that the Bank of Japan might hike its benchmark interest rate from 0.25 percent as early as its Jan. 17-18 meeting.

But a rate hike still appears unlikely this month and participants used the report as an excuse to take profits on the dollar's recent rise against the yen, Hachijuni Bank foreign exchange dealer Noriaki Ichikawa said.
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