Forexpros – The euro gained against the dollar on Friday after weaker than expected employment data in the U.S. rekindled sentiment that the Federal Reserve will stimulate the economy in a way that will send the greenback falling.
In U.S. trading on Friday, EUR/USD was trading at 1.3091, up 0.19%, up from a session low of 1.3052 and off from a high of 1.3112.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3052, the session’s earlier low, and resistance at 1.3233, Wednesday’s high.
In the U.S., the Labor Department reported the economy added a net 120,000 nonfarm payrolls in March, well below market expectations for a gain of around 203,000.
The government revised February’s payrolls to 240,000 from 227,000, but cut January’s figure by 9,000 to 275,000.
While Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has hinted that recent better-than-expected gains in the labor market were likely due to unseasonably warm weather and could taper off, March’s official numbers caught many off guard, sparking fears the Fed will intervene again via quantitative easing.
Under quantitative easing, the Fed purchases assets from banks, injecting liquidity into the economy and weakening the dollar in the process.
The euro met some resistance on fears Spain’s financial situation may worsen, although the U.S. jobs numbers served as the market’s chief weather vane.
The euro, meanwhile, was down against the pound and down against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading down 0.13% at 0.8245 and EUR/JPY down 0.69% and trading at 106.80.
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