(New throughout, updates prices, changes byline, dateline;
previous LONDON)
* Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
By Karen Brettell
NEW YORK, March 5 (Reuters) - The dollar jumped on Friday
after data showed jobs growth beat expectations in February,
backing up the view of Federal Reserve officials who have said
that a recent rise in U.S. government bond yields is justified
by an improving economic outlook.
The jobs improvement came amid falling new COVID-19 cases,
quickening vaccination rates and additional pandemic relief
money from the government, putting the labor market recovery
back on firmer footing and on course for further gains in the
months ahead.
Nonfarm payrolls surged by 379,000 jobs last month, after
rising 166,000 in January. In December, payrolls fell for the
first time in eight months. Economists polled by Reuters had
forecast February payrolls increasing by 182,000 jobs.
"This is a rather impressive nonfarm payroll report," said
Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York.
"There's momentum in the labor market and what that's doing is
providing I think more optimism that the growth picture is
looking even better."
A rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and impending U.S. fiscal
stimulus have boosted confidence in an economic recovery, adding
fuel to expectations of higher inflation.
The dollar index =USD jumped as high as 92.201, the
highest since Nov. 25, before retracing back to 91.906, still up
0.30% on the day. The euro EUR=EBS fell as low as $1.1892, the
lowest since Nov. 26, before bouncing back to $1.1924, down
0.40% on the day.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR hit a one-year
high of 1.625%, and were last at 1.599%.
The jobs data comes after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on
Thursday disappointed investors who were expecting him to
express concerns about rising bond yields.
Powell stuck to his stance of keeping interest rates low
until the economy has recovered, adding that the sell-off in
Treasuries was not "disorderly". "The U.S. dollar rose sharply higher post-Powell comments
(as) many in the market I sense were looking for stronger
rhetoric from the Fed to put a break on further rallies in
yields," said Neil Jones, head of FX sales at Mizuho Bank.
The Swiss franc and Japanese yen continued to weaken against
the greenback on Friday on expectations that global growth will
lag that of the United States.
The Swiss franc CHF=EBS fell to a seven-month low of
0.9310 francs per dollar, before rebounding to 0.9283.
The yen JPY=D3 plumbed a nine-month low of 108.63 yen per
dollar, before bouncing back to 108.37.
Risky currencies including the Australian dollar also
weakened against the greenback. The Aussie AUD=D3 was last
down 0.37% at $0.7692. It has dropped from a three-year high of
$0.8007 last week.
Sterling GBP=D3 briefly fell below $1.38 to a three-week
low. It was last down 0.44% at $1.3835.
In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin BTC=BTSP fell 0.43%
to $48,150. Ethereum ETH=BTSP dropped 2.97% to $1,492.03.
========================================================
Currency bid prices at 9:47AM (1447 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Dollar index =USD 91.9060 91.6420 +0.30% 2.139% +92.2010 +91.6210
Euro/Dollar EUR=EBS $1.1924 $1.1973 -0.40% -2.40% +$1.1977 +$1.1893
Dollar/Yen JPY=D3 108.3650 107.9400 +0.31% +4.83% +108.6400 +107.8250
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 129.22 129.25 -0.02% +1.81% +129.5700 +128.9000
Dollar/Swiss CHF=EBS 0.9283 0.9288 -0.05% +4.93% +0.9311 +0.9258
Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3 $1.3835 $1.3897 -0.44% +1.27% +$1.3906 +$1.3779
Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3 1.2657 1.2667 -0.07% -0.60% +1.2736 +1.2647
Aussie/Dollar AUD=D3 $0.7692 $0.7721 -0.37% -0.01% +$0.7727 +$0.7624
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1067 1.1119 -0.47% +2.41% +1.1125 +1.1056
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8616 0.8612 +0.05% -3.59% +0.8651 +0.8603
NZ NZD=D3 $0.7158 $0.7186 -0.40% -0.33% +$0.7193 +$0.7100
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK=D3 8.5305 8.5795 -0.41% -0.50% +8.6290 +8.5095
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.1695 10.2706 -0.98% -2.84% +10.3076 +10.1630
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.5341 8.4909 +0.08% +4.12% +8.5668 +8.4834
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.1766 10.1683 +0.08% +0.99% +10.1995 +10.1616
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