U.S. dollar rallies on upbeat nonfarm payroll report

The U.S. dollar increased against other major currencies on Friday as the country' s nonfarm payroll report came out better than expected.

U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 255,000 in July, beating economists' estimates of 180,000, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Average hourly earnings for all employees increased 8 cents to 25.69 U.S. dollars, following a 2-cent increase in June, according to the report.

Analysts said the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates by year-end given the steady improvement of U.S. labor market.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.46 percent at 96.196 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1091 dollars from 1.1131 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound dipped to 1.3082 dollars from 1.3109 dollars. The Australian dollar went down to 0.7622 dollars from 0.7633 dollars.

The dollar bought 101.80 Japanese yen, higher than 101.17 yen in the previous session. The dollar climbed to 0.9797 Swiss francs from 0.9738 Swiss francs, and it inched up to 1.3157 Canadian dollars from 1.3010 Canadian dollars. Endit