Solid U.S. Jobs Data Buoys Dollar

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar drifted higher against its major counterparts in the European session on Friday, as stronger-than-expected jobs data fuelled hopes that the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady in the near future.

Data from the Labor Department showed that U.S. job growth exceeded economist estimates in April.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 253,000 jobs in April compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 179,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate edged down to 3.4 percent in April from 3.5 percent in March. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

U.S. treasury yields rose following the report, with the benchmark 10-year yield touching 3.443 percent. Yields move inversely to bond prices.

The dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies reached a 2-day high of 101.77.

The greenback climbed to a 2-day high of 135.12 against the yen from yesterday's close of 134.27. Immediate resistance for the currency is seen around the 139.00 level.

The greenback firmed to 3-day highs of 1.0966 against the euro and 0.8973 against the franc, from yesterday's closing values of 1.1009 and 0.8855, respectively. The greenback is likely to find resistance around 1.08 against the euro and 0.92 against the franc.

The greenback edged up to 1.2557 against the pound, from near a 1-year low of 1.2634 seen at 2:50 am ET. The pair had finished yesterday's trading session at 1.2573. Should the greenback continues its uptrend, is possibly seen as its next resistance level.

The greenback advanced to 0.6688 against the aussie, reversing from a 2-week low of 0.6744 it logged at 3 am ET. The pair was worth 0.6692 at Thursday's close. Next near term resistance for the greenback is likely seen around the 0.64 level.

The greenback moved up to 0.6263 against the kiwi, from a fresh 4-week low of 0.6315 hit at 1 am ET. At yesterday's trading close, the pair was quoted at 0.6279. Further rise in the currency may challenge resistance around the 0.61 region.

In contrast, the greenback fell against the loonie as strong Canada jobs data supported the latter. The USD/CAD pair weakened to a fresh 2-week low of 1.3449 from Thursday's close of 1.3538. The greenback is seen finding support around the 1.33 level.