U.S. dollar declines amid nonfarm payrolls

The U.S. dollar fell against other major currencies on Friday as investors were digesting the newly-released nonfarm payroll report from the country.

The Labor Department said on Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 178,000 in November, and the jobless rate went down from October's 4.9 percent to 4.6 percent, the lowest level in nine years.

But the report was not all positive. The Department revised up the job gains in September to 208,000, but revised down the job gains in October. The combined employment gains in these two months were 2,000, less than previously reported.

Moreover, average hourly earnings for all employees declined by 3 cents to 25.89 U.S. dollars, following an 11-cent increase in October.

Analysts said the nonfarm payrolls were solid but not spectacular, which bolstered market speculation for a rate increase in December but spurred doubts about the rate-hike path in 2017.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.27 percent at 100.770 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.0659 dollars from 1.0657 dollars, and the British pound climbed to 1.2712 dollars from 1.2586 dollars. The Australian dollar increased to 0.7447 dollars from 0.7418 dollars.

The dollar bought 113.74 Japanese yen, lower than 114.02 yen in the previous session. The dollar inched down to 1.0108 Swiss francs from 1.0111 Swiss francs, and it slipped to 1.3290 Canadian dollars from 1.3309 Canadian dollars. Endit