Investing.com - The dollar held steady against the other major currencies on Monday, as markets digested Friday’s upbeat U.S. nonfarm payrolls data and as trading was expected to remain quiet with no major U.S. economic reports expected throughout the day.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.1093.
The greenback strengthened broadly on Friday after the Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 255,000 jobs last month, well above expectations for 180,000.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.9%, as more people entered the labor market.
The report also showed that average hourly earnings rose month-on-month by 0.3%, beating expectations for a 0.2% gain. They were up 2.6% on the year.
The upbeat data reignited speculation that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates this year.
GBP/USD slipped 0.24% to 1.3038, close to Friday’s three-and-a-half week lows of 1.3019.
The pound was still under pressure after the Bank of England cut interest rates to a record-low 0.25% last week, in a move to buffer the economy from a downturn following the Brexit vote.
USD/JPY climbed 0.60% to trade at 102.39, while USD/CHF held steady at 0.9812.
The Australian dollar was stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.21% at 0.7634, while NZD/USD fell 0.20% to 0.7130.
Earlier Monday, data showed that China’s imports declined by 12.5% in July, compared to expectations for a 7.0% drop. Exports fell by 4.4% last month, compared to expectations for a 3.0% fall.
China is Australia’s biggest export partner and New Zealand’s second biggest export partner.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD eased 0.14% to trade at 1.3158.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 96.24, not far from Friday’s one-week high of 96.50.