Early trade in New York: Dollar slides; MSCI EM currency index climbs

NEW YORK: The dollar fell to its lowest in more than two months on Friday after US jobs data for April came in well below expectations, putting a damper on hopes that a roaring economic recovery would lead to higher rates any time soon.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by only 266,000 jobs last month after rising by 770,000 in March, the Labour Department said in its closely watched employment report on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls advancing by 978,000 jobs.

The dollar was down 0.34% at 90.561 against a basket of major currencies, having dropped as low as 90.338, its lowest since Feb. 26, following the data.

The euro was up 0.44% against the greenback at $1.21140 and the British pound was up 0.3% at $1.3933.

China’s yuan was at a more than two-month high versus the dollar, set for its longest weekly winning streak since September, helped by the strong trade data and softer dollar.

The MSCI emerging market currency index hit a record high of 1732.79 on Friday, lifted by gains in the Chinese yuan. The Canadian dollar was up 0.27% at 1.2185 to the US dollar, having surged on Thursday to its strongest in more than three years. The Australian dollar was up 0.19% versus the US dollar, at 0.77995, more than recouping losses from earlier in the session. In cryptocurrencies, ether rose 0.51% to $3,507.92, having hit a all-time high on Thursday. Bitcoin was up 1.4%, at $57,237.60.