NEW YORK: The dollar pared earlier gains after US jobs data for December showed employers added 223,000 jobs in the month, more than economists’ forecasts, while wage growth was slightly less than expected.
Economists had expected 200,000 jobs would be added. Wages grew by 0.3% last month, below forecasts of 0.4%.
The data may reduce the odds that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates by another 50 basis points next month.
[ Hawkish Fed rhetoric fails to lift dollar; Aussie jumps ][1]
The dollar was last up 0.09% on the day against a basket of currencies at 105.19, after earlier reaching 105.63, the highest since Dec. 7.
The euro was little changed on the day at $1.0521, and the dollar was up 0.25% against the Japanese yen at 133.70.
Fed funds futures traders increased bets the Fed will hike rates by 25 basis points at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Feb. 1 to 67% from 54% before the data, with a 50 basis point hike now only seen as a 33% probability.
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