Dollar Drops Most in 8 Weeks as Jobs Data Cool Fed Taper Views

Bloomberg (07/9) -- The dollar fell the most in more than eight weeks after U.S. employers added fewer workers last month than forecast, damping speculation the Federal Reserve will cut bond purchases this month. The U.S. currency weakened versus a majority of its 16-most-traded counterparts after a Labor Department report showed payrolls rose by 169,000 in August, compared with a median forecast of 96 economists surveyed by Bloomberg that called for a 180,000 jobs gain. The U.S. jobless rate fell to 7.3 percent. Canada’s dollar rose to the highest level in more than two weeks as the nation added jobs last month at triple the pace forecast. The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 other major currencies, fell 0.7 percent to 1,031.35 at 5 p.m. New York time, after slipping 0.8 percent, the biggest drop since July 11. The dollar fell 0.4 percent to $1.3178 per euro after reaching its strongest level since July 19. It dropped 1 percent to 99.11 per yen. The 17-nation euro depreciated 0.5 percent to 130.63 yen. The dollar appreciated 5.1 percent this year, the best performer among 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The euro advanced 5 percent, while the yen slumped 9.4 percent.