U.S. Weakens After Jobs Data

The U.S. dollar fell sharply against its major rivals in European deals on Friday, after data showed that nonfarm payroll employment increased much less than anticipated in the month of September.

Data from the Labor Department showed that the number of people employed rose by 142,000 in September following a downwardly revised increase of 136,000 jobs in August.

Economists had expected employment to climb by 203,000 jobs compared to the addition of 173,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held at a seven-year low of 5.1 percent in September, matching economist estimates.

The greenback fell to a 4-day low of 1.5237 versus the pound, 11-day lows of 1.1316 versus the euro and 0.9655 against the franc, down from its early highs of 1.5127 and 1.1150, and a 4-day high 0.9795, respectively.

The greenback hit more than a 3-week low of 118.95 against the Japanese yen, off its early 4-day high 120.41.

The greenback declined to an 11-day low of 1.3185 against the loonie, while touching 0.6455 against the kiwi, its lowest since September 18. This may be compared to early highs of greenback of 1.3268 against the loonie and 0.6384 against the kiwi.

The greenback is likely to find support around 118.00 against the yen, 0.95 against the franc, 1.14 against the euro, 1.53 against the pound, 1.31 against the loonie and 0.65 against the kiwi.