Investing.com - The dollar turned moderately higher against against the other major currencies on Friday, after data showed that U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose less than expected last month, while the unemployment rate fell more than initially anticipated.
The Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 173.000 jobs in August, disappointing expectations for an increase of 220.000. The number of jobs created rose by 245.000 in July, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated gain of 215.000.
The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate ticked down to 5.1% last month from 5.3% in July. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to hit 5.2% in August.
U.S. average hourly earnings rose by 0.3% in August, beating expectations for an uptick of 0.2%, after a 0.2% increase the previous month.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.13% at 96.44, off session lows of 95.87.
The dollar turned higher against the euro, with EUR/USD down 0.14% at 1.1111, after rising to highs of 1.1188 earlier in the session.
The single currency remained under pressure after the European Central Bank indicated on Thursday that it could expand its quantitative easing program amid increased downside risks to its inflation outlook.
The ECB lowered its forecast for growth and inflation, citing oil prices and slowing growth in China.
Earlier Friday, official data showed that German factory orders declined by 1.4% in July, compared to expectations for a 0.6% slip. Factory orders increased by 1.8% in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated gain of 2.0%.
The dollar was still lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.70% to 119.01.
The dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.24% to fresh three-month lows of 1.5224 and was steady against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF at 0.9735.
The Australian dollar and New Zealand dollars pushed lower, with AUD/USD down 0.74% at 0.6967 and with NZD/USD sliding 0.65% to 0.6356.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged up 0.19% to trade at 1.3207 after data showed that the number of employed people in Canada rose by 12.000 in August, confounding expectations for a 4.500 decline and after an increase of 6.600 the previous month.
Canada's unemployment rate rose to 7.0% last month from 6.8% in July. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged in August.