(AFP Photo)
(AFP) – The dollar tumbled against other major currencies Friday following a weaker than expected US jobs report for August.
The euro bought $1.3180 around 2200 GMT, up from $1.3117 late Thursday.
The dollar fell to 99.11 yen from 100.12 yen.
The euro also declined against the Japanese currency, trading at 130.62 yen compared with 131.35 yen the prior day.
The dollar slid after the US government reported the economy had added 169,000 jobs in August, falling short of the analyst consensus estimate of 177,000.
The unemployment rate ticked down a tenth point to 7.3 percent, pushed by a fall in the participation rate to its lowest level since 1978.
Despite the weak jobs report, most analysts predicted the Federal Reserve would move to taper its massive asset-purchase program at its September 17-18 monetary policy meeting.
The decline in the jobless rate brought it closer to the 7.0 percent range favored by the Fed’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) for the end of tapering.
“The dismal US non-farm payrolls report certainly dragged on the dollar, but the recent lull in job growth may do little to stop the Fed from tapering its asset-purchase program at the September 17-18 meeting as the central bank continues to highlight a more broad-based recovery in the world’s largest economy,” said David Song at DailyFX.
The British pound rose to $1.5636, from $1.5586 late Thursday.
The dollar also fell against the Swiss currency, to 0.9379 franc from 0.9449 franc.
“The sharp selloff in the dollar may be short-lived, and the policy outlook may continue to prop up the reserve currency over the near to medium-term as the FOMC looks to switch gears,” Song said.
