* Dollar rises after disappointing U.S. jobs report
* ECB holds key rate at record low 1.0 percent as expected
* China quells FX reserves speculation, supports dollar (Adds comments, updates prices, changes byline)
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - The dollar rose against major currencies on Thursday after bleak U.S. jobs data renewed concerns about the economy and enhanced the greenback's safe-haven appeal.
U.S. Treasury bonds rose in price and stocks fell sharply after a government report showed U.S. employers cut 467,000 jobs in June, far more than expected, while the national unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent.
The data raised investor risk aversion, which also pushed the yen higher and drove down higher-yielding, commodity-linked currencies like the Australian and New Zealand dollars.
"The weak jobs report reinforced a trend already in place in the forex market prior to the release, that is, that the dollar was oversold," said Camilla Sutton, a currency strategist at Scotia Capital, in Toronto.
"Euro/dollar has been stuck in a range and with weak data like today's, the euro will not get the support to break through $1.42," she added.
In midafternoon trading in New York, the euro was down 0.9 percent at $1.4020, retreating from $1.4201 hit on Wednesday, its highest since early June.
Adding to pressure on the euro were comments from the European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet that euro-zone activity would likely remain weak for the rest of the year. The ECB left its benchmark refinancing interest rate at a record low of 1 percent, as expected.
The dollar slipped 0.8 percent to 95.84 yen, after trading as high as 96.89 yen before the jobs report.
The ICE Futures U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.7 percent to 80.207.
Volume was light ahead of the three-day weekend for the Independence Day holiday in the United States. Financial markets will be closed on Friday and will re-open on Monday.
CHINA COMMENTS
The dollar also benefited from a Chinese Foreign Ministry official's comments, which dampened speculation about diversification of currency reserves.
On Wednesday, the U.S. currency fell to a three-week low against the euro after sources told Reuters that China had asked for a debate on proposals for a new global reserve currency at next week's Group of Eight summit in Italy.
On Thursday, Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said it would be "normal" for the issue to be raised at next week's meeting, but he had not heard that Beijing had requested such a discussion.
"The dollar has been a little bit underpinned by the Chinese policymakers taking back their rhetoric about the global reserve currency," said Samarjit Shankar, director of global foreign exchange strategy at the Bank of New York Mellon in Boston.
In other currency trading, the Swiss franc hit the day's low of 1.5257 per euro from around 1.52 after a Swiss National Bank official said the central bank was prepared to continue interventions to stem the domestic currency's strength.
The Swedish crown tumbled after Sweden's central bank surprised markets by cutting its key repo rate by 25 basis points to 0.25 percent on Thursday. The euro rose 1.5 percent on the day to 10.882 crowns, Reuters data showed.
"Central banks across the globe are becoming increasingly more vocal about sharp gains in their currencies," Scotia Capital's Sutton said. "Their participation in the forex markets is likely to increase."