1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar mixed amid rate hike uncertainty

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against other major currencies on Friday as a key jobs report failed to give clear signals about whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this month.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls data came out mixed, which missed on the headline number but beat estimates on the unemployment rate and wage indicators.

The Labor Department reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 173,000 in August, well below market consensus of 223,000.

The unemployment rate, however, edged down to 5.1 percent, beating market estimates of 5.2 percent and logging the lowest level in seven years.

Meanwhile, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents to 25.09 U.S. dollars in August, also higher than market expectations.

The jobs report is the final read on monthly labor conditions before the Federal Reserve makes a decision on interest rates at its next policy meeting in about two weeks.

"We think the FOMC will elect to raise rates, but they can still talk themselves out of it if they try," chief economist at FTN Financial, Chris Low, said in a note.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, edged down 0.16 percent at 96.253 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1148 dollars from 1.1121 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound dropped to 1.5183 dollars from 1.5259 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar moved down to 0.6924 dollar from 0.7017 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 118.93 Japanese yen, lower than 120.00 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar fell to 0.9730 Swiss franc from 0.9736 Swiss franc, and it gained to 1.3253 Canadian dollars from 1.3198 Canadian dollars. Endit