Investing.com - The U.S. dollar struggled for direction against a basket of other currencies on Friday after a disappointing jobs report.
The number of Americans employed in March rose less than expected, increasing investor concern about the health of the economy.
Nonfarm payrolls (NFP) rose by 103,000 in March, according to official data released on Friday.The data was lower than the consensus estimate for the creation of 193,000 jobs and below the 241,000 positions that the ADP report indicated on Wednesday.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell 0.01% to 90.11 as of 8:42 AM ET (12:42 GMT), after falling to a low of 90.00 right after the jobs report was released.
The dollar was also held back by increased trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
On Thursday U.S. President Donald Trump said he was asking the United States Trade Representative to consider $100 billion more in tariffs as a retaliation against China.
China announced two sets of tariffs this week in a tit-for-tat against technology, steel and aluminium tariffs imposed by Trump.
The dollar rose against the safe haven yen, with USD/JPY gaining 0.02% to trade at 107.41. In times of uncertainty, investors tend to invest in the Japanese yen, which is considered a safe asset during periods of risk aversion.
The euro was at a one-month low, with EUR/USD falling 0.02% to 1.2238. Meanwhile GBP/USD inched up 0.18% to 1.4026.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar was flat, with AUD/USD rising 0.03% to 0.7684, while NZD/USD slumped 0.26% to 0.7255.
In Canada, the loonie eased back from earlier losses, with USD/CAD falling 0.01% to 1.2747.