Investing.com - The dollar turned back lower against the other major currencies on Friday, even after data showed that the U.S. created more jobs than expected last month.
EUR/USD gained 0.43% to 1.003.
The Labor Department said that the U.S. economy added 242.000 jobs in February, exceeding expectations for a 190.000 rise. The U.S. added 172.000 jobs in January, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 151.000 gain.
The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9% last month, in line with expectations.
The report also showed that U.S. average hourly earnings fell 0.1% in February, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% rise, after an increase of 0.5% the previous month.
Data also showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened to $45.68 billion in January from $44.70 billion in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of $43.40 billion.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to hit $44.00 billion in January.
USD/JPY edged up 0.08% to 113.79.
Demand for the safe-haven yen continued to weaken as oil prices rose above $35 a barrel, as concerns over a global supply glut seemed to dissipate.
The dollar was steady against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD at 1.4184 and with USD/CHF at 0.9920.
Meanwhile, the Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.72% at 0.7404 and with NZD/USD advancing 0.83% to 0.6780.
Data earlier showed that Australia’s retail sales rose 0.3% in January, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% increase and after a flat reading the previous month.
USD/CAD edged down 0.19% to 1.3381.
Statistics Canada reported that the trade deficit narrowed to C$0.66 billion in January from C$0.63 billion in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of C$0.59 billion.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to C$1.05 billion in January.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.23% at 97.39, after hitting highs of 98.05 earlier in the day.