Early trade in New York: Dollar retreats from weekly high

NEW YORKL: The dollar pulled back from a one-week high against a basket of major currencies on Friday after a dismal December U.S. payrolls report highlighted the need for further stimulus measures to prop up an economy battered by the coronavirus and its related government lockdown measures.

The greenback had been climbing from a nearly three-year low on Thursday and reached a high of 90.132 n Friday ahead of the data, its highest level since Jan. 1, as a rise in U.S. yields helped fuel the unwinding of bearish bets on the currency, with traders taking profits against the euro in particular.

The dollar index last rose 0.043% at 89.84.

The dollar index dropped 7% in 2020 and as much as 0.9% in the first few days of the new year on expectations of US fiscal stimulus. But since hitting its lowest level since March 2018, the greenback has found some footing, climbing as much as 1%.

Both the euro and the pound strengthened against the dollar in the wake of the payrolls report. The euro was last down 0.14% to $1.2253 while Sterling was last trading at $1.3588, up 0.18% on the day.—Reuters