Upbeat Jobs Data Lifts U.S. Dollar

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar firmed against its major counterparts in the European session on Friday, as the nation's job growth exceeded expectations in November, putting pressure on the Federal Reserve to continue raising rates in coming months.

Data from the Labor Department showed that non-farm payroll employment jumped by 263,000 jobs in November after surging by an upwardly revised 284,000 jobs in October.

Economists had expected employment to shoot up by 200,000 jobs compared to the addition of 261,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent in November, unchanged from October and in line with economist estimates.

New York Fed President John Williams said on Thursday that the central bank has a ways to go on rate hikes in order to bring down high inflation.

The benchmark yield on the 10-year treasury note rose to 3.594 percent. Yields move inversely to bond prices.

The USD/JPY pair rose to 135.98, from a 3-1/2-month low of 133.62 seen at 3:50 am ET. The pair was worth 135.34 when it ended deals on Thursday. Should the greenback continues its rise, 145.00 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.

The greenback was up against the pound, at 1.2134. The pound-greenback pair had finished yesterday's trading session at 1.2254. The greenback is seen facing resistance around the 1.19 level.

The USD/CHF pair climbed to 0.9439, from a 7-1/2-month low of 0.9326 it logged at 7:30 am ET. At Thursday's close, the pair was valued at 0.9371. Further rise in the currency may challenge resistance around the 0.97 region.

The greenback edged up to 1.0428 against the euro, reversing from more than a 5-month low of 1.0545 set at 3:40 am ET. The pair had closed Thursday's deals at 1.0526. The greenback is likely to find resistance around the 1.02 level, if it rises again.

The greenback touched 2-day highs of 1.3521 against the loonie and 0.6742 against the aussie, up from yesterday's closing values of 1.3431 and 0.6811, respectively. Immediate resistance for the U.S. currency is seen around 1.37 against the loonie and 0.64 against the aussie.

The greenback appreciated to 0.6328 against the kiwi, after declining to a 3-1/2-month low of 0.6412 at 3:40 am ET. At yesterday's trading close, the pair was quoted at 0.6371. Next near term resistance for the greenback is likely seen around the 0.60 level.