Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly supported against a basket of other major currencies on Monday, trading at nearly six-year highs as Friday's upbeat U.S. employment data fuelled further optimism over the strength of the nation's job market.
The dollar strengthened broadly after the Labor Department reported on Friday that the U.S. economy added 321,000 jobs in November, far more than the 225,000 forecast by economists and the largest monthly increase in almost three years.
September’s figure was revised up to 243,000 from a previously reported 214,000 and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at a six-year low of 5.8%.
The strong data fuelled to expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates mid-2015, compared to expectations for September 2015 before the report.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, edged up 0.10% to 89.48, the highest since March 2009.
EUR/USD hit fresh two-year lows at 1.2254, down 0.23% for the day after European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny warned that the euro zone economy is suffering a "massive weakening" and that there is a "high probability" that euro zone inflation would slow further in the coming months.
Earlier Monday, data showed that German industrial production rose just 0.2% in October, while September’s figure was revised down to 1.1% from 1.4% previously. The data fuelled concerns over the outlook for fourth quarter growth.
USD/JPY slipped 0.26% to 121.13, off seven-year highs of 121.69 hit earlier in the session.
Revised data on Monday showed that Japan’s gross domestic product contracted by an annualized 1.9%, more than the preliminary estimate of a 1.6% decline.
On a quarter-over-quarter basis the economy contracted by 0.5% in the three months to September, compared to a preliminary estimate of a 0.4% contraction.
The pound edged higher, with GBP/USD up 0.15% to 1.5610, while USD/CHF added 0.20% to trade at 0.9812.
In Switzerland, official data earlier showed that retail sales rose at an annualized rate of 0.3% in October, below expectations for an increase of 0.9%.
Another report showed that Swiss consumer price inflation was flat last month, compared to expectations for a 0.1% slip, after a flat reading in October.
The Australian hit four-and-a-half year lows, with AUD/USD down 0.11% to 0.8300, while NZD/USD dropped 0.83% to 0.7651 and USD/CAD held steady at 1.1444.
The export-related currencies were affected by data on Monday showing that Chinese exports rose just 4.7% in November from a year earlier, less than the expected 7.9% increase, while imports fell 6.7% on a year-over-year basis.