NEW YORK, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Friday as investors' risk appetite improved amid a better-than-expected U.S. employment report in April.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.18 percent at 101.2128 in late trading.
In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1025 dollars from 1.1015 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound increased to 1.2640 dollars from 1.2578 U.S. dollars in the previous session.
The U.S. dollar bought 134.7650 Japanese yen, higher than 134.1790 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar increased to 0.8905 Swiss francs from 0.8858 Swiss francs, and it fell to 1.3377 Canadian dollars from 1.3538 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar was down to 10.1554 Swedish Krona from 10.2423 Swedish Krona.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 253,000 in April, beating economists' expectation of 178,000. However, the growth in March was revised from 236,000 to 165,000.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in April, down from 3.5 percent in March. Economists expected a reading of 3.6 percent. Average hourly earnings increased by 0.5 percent in April month on month, while both market forecast consensus and the growth in the previous month stood at 0.3 percent.
"It is encouraging to see a strong jobs report amid recession concerns, instability in the banking sector and ongoing layoffs. We are hopeful the continued strength of the jobs market and signs of slowing inflation will ease market volatility in the coming months," Steve Rick, chief economist at CUNA Mutual Group, said on Friday.
"The totality of this is an economy that's still strong enough for consumers to spend, again as long as the labor market remains intact. You still have an economy that is solid enough for the Fed to be concerned about where inflation is headed," Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial, said on Friday.
The Eurostat reported Friday that the retail sales in the euro zone fell by 1.2 percent in March month on month, missing economists' expectation of a 0.1-percent growth. The month-on-month change in February was revised upward from minus 0.8 percent to minus 0.2 percent.
