Investing.com - The dollar slipped lower against the other major currencies on Monday, as Friday’s downbeat U.S. employment report crushed expectations for a U.S. rate hike in the near future.
Trading volumes were expected to remain light with U.S. markets set to remain closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
EUR/USD edged up 0.11% to at 1.1167.
The greenback remained under pressure after data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in August, disappointing expectations for an increase of 180,000.
The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9% this month, confounding expectations for a downtick to 4.8%.
The report also showed that average hourly earnings rose 0.1% in August, below expectations for a 0.2% increase.
The disappointing data dampened expectations for a near-term rate hike, as Fed officials recently indicated that the pace of interest rate increases will be data-dependent.
GBP/USD rose 0.30% to 1.3334, the highest since August 3.
The pound strengthened after research group Markit said its U.K. services purchasing managers’ index rose to 52.9 last month from a reading of 47.4 in July. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 50.0.
The upbeat data added to current optimism over the strength of the economy and Britain’s ability to overcome any post-Brexit hurdles.
USD/JPY declined 0.61% to trade at 103.27, while USD/CHF fell 0.21% to trade at 0.9785.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.37% at 0.7601 and with NZD/USD climbed 0.52% to 0.7328.
Earlier Monday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that company operating profits increased by 6.9% in the second quarter, compared to expectations for a 2.0% rise.
Company operating profits declined by 4.4% in the first quarter, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 4.7% drop.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD dropped 0.59% to 1.2912, the lowest since August 26.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.27% at 95.61.