1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar rises despite weak data

The U.S. dollar increased against most major currencies Monday despite recent soft economic data from the country.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was up 0.30 percent at 96.113 in late trading.

The Labor Department announced Friday that U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in September, well below market consensus of 203,000.

Meanwhile, the average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 1 cent to 25.09 U.S. dollars, also missing estimates.

The downbeat jobs data dampened market expectation for an interest-rate hike by year-end.

Moreover, the U.S. Non-Manufacturing Index registered 56.9 percent in September, below the August reading of 59 percent and missed market expectations of 57.5 percent, said the Institute Supply Management (ISM) in its monthly survey Monday. The latest reading was the lowest level since June.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1180 dollars from 1.1225 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound dropped to 1.5150 dollars from 1.5193 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar increased to 0.7094 U.S. dollar from 0.7032 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 120.47 Japanese yen, higher than 119.88 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 0.9758 Swiss franc from 0.9707 Swiss franc but declined to 1.3083 Canadian dollars from 1.3189 Canadian dollars. Endit