Dollar Rises Against Major Counterparts On Buoyant Economic Data

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar surged higher on Friday, gaining significant ground against most of its major counterparts, as upbeat jobs data dashed hopes of an early rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Data from the Labor Department showed that non-farm payroll employment spiked by 353,000 jobs in January compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 180,000 jobs.

Job growth in November and December was also upwardly revised to 182,000 jobs and 333,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net upward revision of 126,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate in January came in unchanged from the previous month at 3.7%. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to inch up to 3.8%.

Strong jobs data added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates after the Federal Reserve signaled on Wednesday that it is unlikely to cut rates in March.

Treasury yields jumped, with the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury note surging to 4.054%.

A report from the Commerce Department showed new orders for U.S. manufactured goods rose in line with estimates in the month of December, rising by 0.2%, after surging by 2.6% in November.

Revised data from the University of Michigan showed U.S. consumer sentiment improved by slightly more than previously estimated in the month of January. The report said the consumer sentiment index for January was upwardly revised to 79.0 from the preliminary reading of 78.8. Economists had expected the reading to be unrevised.

The dollar index surged to 104.04 before easing to 103.94, still trading nearly 0.9% up from the previous close.

Against the Euro, the dollar firmed to 1.0790, gaining from 1.0872. Against Pound Sterling, the dollar strengthened to 1.2634 from 1.2743. The dollar gained against the Japanese currency, fetching 148.36 yen a unit, compared to 146.42 yen a unit on Thursday.

The dollar firmed against the Aussie to 0.6514. The Swiss franc weakened to 0.8667 a dollar from 0.8576. The dollar climbed against the Loonie to C$1.3465 as oil prices dropped on demand concerns.