Investing.com - The dollar moved higher against a basket of the other major currencies on Monday as Friday’s robust U.S. jobs report for November bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates later this month.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.31% to 98.58.
The index was still below last week’s seven-and-a-half month peaks after dropping more than 2% on Thursday as the euro rallied.
The Labor Department reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs last month, after increasing an upwardly revised 298,000 in October.
The unemployment rate held steady at 5% in November. Economists had forecast jobs growth of 200,000 and no change in the unemployment rate.
The report hardened expectations that the Fed will hike interest rates for the first time since 2006 at its upcoming meeting on December 15-16. Higher U.S. interest rates would make the dollar more attractive to yield-seeking investors.
EUR/USD was down 0.33% to 1.0842, off Thursday’s highs of 1.0980.
The euro remained weaker after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Friday the ECB would step up stimulus measures if necessary to bring inflation back to target.
The remarks came one day after the euro posted its largest one-day gain against the dollar in more than six years, jumping 3% after the latest easing measures announced by the ECB fell short of market expectations.
The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.21% to 123.35. The euro slid lower against the Japanese currency, with EUR/JPY slipping 0.16% to 133.67.