Investing.com - The U.S. dollar lost ground against its rivals Thursday as domestic private sector job creation fell short of forecasts, keeping U.S. government bond yields under pressure.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.36% to 96.66.
A day ahead of the all-import jobs report for November, private payrolls grew by 179,000 last month, below the 225,000 seen in October, according to a report released Thursday by ADP and Moody's Analytics.
That missed economists' forecast for 196,000, keeping the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield near three-month lows, weighing on the greenback.
With Fed policymakers still widely expected to raise interest rates again at their Dec. 18-19 meeting, investor attention has turned to the rate-hike cycle for next year, with many scaling back expectations amid concerns over slowing global growth.
The dollar was also kept on the back foot by a stronger yen as a rout in global markets on the back of trade-war jitters sparked a flight to safety.
Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada reportedly at the behest of U.S. officials, leaving many fearing the trade war truce between the United States and China may collapse, potentially deepening the rift between the world's two largest economies.
USD/JPY fell 0.58% to Y112.53.
Elsewhere, the USD/CAD rose 0.19% as falling oil prices and dovish remarks from Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz on monetary policy, kept the loonie in the red.
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz reiterated Thursday the bank's dovish policy statement from a day earlier, indicating little enthusiasm to speed up the pace of interest rates increases from current levels.
GBP/USD rose 0.42% to $1.2789, despite growing concerns that the British Parliament vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, due next week, is unlikely to secured enough votes.
EUR/USD rose 0.40% to $1.1389.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.