Investing.com - The dollar pulled back from seven-month highs against the other major currencies on Monday as investors took a breather in the wake of strong gains spurred by Friday’s robust U.S. jobs report for October.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, slid 0.22% to 99.07, off Friday’s highs of 99.29, the highest level since mid-April.
The greenback strengthened across the board after the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 271,000 jobs last month, well ahead of the 180,000 expected by economists and the largest increase since December.
The unemployment rate fell to a seven-and-a-half year low of 5.0%.
The robust data paved the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its December meeting, a move that would make the dollar more attractive to yield-seeking investors.
The jobs data came after Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the U.S. economy was performing well, and that December would represent a “live possibility” for raising interest rates if economic data supported it.
EUR/USD climbed 0.27% to 1.0768, recovering from Friday’s seven-month trough of 1.0701.
Gains in the single currency were held in check by heightened expectations that the European Central Bank could enlarge its stimulus program before then year’s end, in a bid to shore up growth and inflation in the euro area.
The yen remained weaker against the dollar, with USD/JPY advancing 0.23% to 123.43, the strongest level since August 21.
The pound and the Swiss franc pushed higher, with GBP/USD easing up 0.14% to 1.5075 and USD/CHF down 0.39% to 1.0024, from Friday’s eight month highs of 1.0075.