Dollar mixed to lower on uninspiring March jobs report

A lukewarm March jobs report weakened the dollar on Friday by clouding expectations as to how long the Federal Reserve will keep monetary stimulus programs in place.

Uninspiring jobs report weakens dollar

In U.S. trading on Thursday, EUR/USD was down 0.12% at 1.3704.

In the U.S. earlier, the Department of Labor reported that the U.S. economy added 192,000 jobs in March, missing expectations for a 200,000 increase. February's figure was revised up to 197,000 from 175,000, while January's figure rose to 144,000 from 129,000.

The private sector added 192,000 jobs last month, below expectations for a 195,000 rise, while February's figure was revised up to 188,000 jobs added from a previously estimated 162,000 increase.

The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7% last month compared to expectations for a 6.6% reading.

The numbers sent investors rethinking when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates once it winds down monthly asset purchases.

While lackluster, the numbers were not disappointing enough to sway investors' focus from the European Central Bank.

On Thursday, the ECB left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record-low 0.25%, held its marginal lending rate at 0.75% and left its deposit facility rate unchanged at zero.

ECB President Mario Draghi said monetary authorities did not exclude further monetary policy easing and reiterated the ECB's forward guidance that interest rates will remain at their current levels, or lower, for an extended period.

He added the ECB's governing council was "unanimous" in its commitment to using all unconventional instruments within its mandate to ward off deflationary pressures and added that the bank discussed the possibility of negative deposit rates.

Elsewhere on Friday, official data revealed that German factory orders rose 0.6% in February, beating expectations for a 0.1% gain. Factory orders in January were revised down to a 0.1% increase from a previously estimated 1.2% rise.

The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.65% at 103.24, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.05% at 0.8916.

The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.12% at 1.6579.

The dollar was down against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.47% at 1.0984, AUD/USD up 0.58% at 0.9286 and NZD/USD up 0.51% at 0.8590.

In Canada, official data showed that the economy added 42,900 jobs last month, exceeding expectations for a 21,500 rise, after a 7,000 decline in February.

Canada's unemployment rate declined to 6.9% in March, from 7% in February. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged last month.

The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.06% at 80.56.

On Friday, the dollar will move on the government nonfarm payrolls report and unemployment rate.

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U.S. stocks open higher after downbeat data; Dow Jones up 0.28%

U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, as the release of downbeat U.S. employment data fuelled fresh speculation that the Federal Reserve could slow down the tapering of its stimulus program.

U.S. stocks rise as data fuels Fed speculation

During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 rose 0.28%, the S&P 500gained 0.36%, while the Nasdaqadded 0.19%.

In a report, the Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 192,000 jobs in March, confounding expectations for a 200,000 increase. February's figure was revised up to a 197,000 rise from a previously estimated 175,000 increase.

The private sector added 192,000 jobs last month, below expectations for a 195,000 rise, while February's figure was revised up to 188,000 jobs added from a previously estimated 162,000 increase.

The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7% last month, disappointing expectations for a downtick to 6.6%.

In the financial, J P Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) climbed 0.49% after the U.S. lender said it will merge the operation that produced a $6.2 billion trading loss in 2012 with another business unit.

Among tech stocks, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) advanced 0.80% after the company's Nest Labs, a digital-thermostat maker acquired earlier in the year, said it is suspending sales of its smoke alarm after it determined the unit could be switched off unintentionally.

Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) added to gains, up 4.23%, after the oil and gas company said it would pay more than $5 billion to clean up areas across the U.S. polluted by nuclear fuel, wood creosote and rocket fuel waste, resolving a long-running lawsuit.

On the downside, McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) slipped 0.13% as the fast food chain announced that it had suspended work at its restaurants in Crimea for "manufacturing reasons," becoming the second international company to cease operations this week on the peninsula.

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) was also on the downside, sliding 0.34% even after saying users of its Vine video application can now send their contacts private videos and other messages, in a move to step up competition with Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) in the mobile-messaging market. Facebook shares were up 0.40%.

On the earnings front, CarMax (NYSE:KMX) reported earnings and revenue below expectations, sending shares down 2.78%. However, the auto retailer increased its share buyback program by $1 billion.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.41%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.49%, Germany'sDAX climbed 0.52%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.53%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.24%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 eased 0.05%.

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Forex - EUR/USD remains lower after U.S. employment data

The euro remained lower against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the release of disappointing U.S. employment data, as comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi continued to weigh on demand for the single currency.

Euro remains near 5-week lows against dollar

EUR/USD hit 1.3682 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's lowest since February 27; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3700, slipping 0.14%.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.3643, the low of February 27 and resistance at 1.3772, the high of March 28.

The greenback came under pressure after the Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 192,000 jobs in March, confounding expectations for a 200,000 increase. February's figure was revised up to a 197,000 rise from a previously estimated 175,000 increase.

The private sector added 192,000 jobs last month, below expectations for a 195,000 rise, while February's figure was revised up to 188,000 jobs added from a previously estimated 162,000 increase.

The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7% last month, disappointing expectations for a downtick to 6.6%.

But the single currency remained near five-week lows against the dollar after ECB President Draghi played down the risk of deflation in the euro zone on Thursday, but added that the bank has not ruled out further policy action, including quantitative easing.

Earlier Friday, official data showed that German factory orders rose rose 0.6% in February, exceeding expectations for a 0.1% gain. Factory orders in January were revised down to a 0.1% increase from a previously estimated 1.2% rise.

The euro was little changed against the pound, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.04% to 0.8263.

In the U.K., official data on Friday showed that the Halifax house price index declined by 1.1% in March, confounding expectations for a 0.7% rise, after a 2.4% increase the previous month.

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