Dollar edges higher after mixed U.S. economic reports

Dollar moves slightly higher vs. rivals but gains capped

Investing.com – The dollar edged higher against the other majors currencies on Friday, after a string of U.S. data painted a mixed picture of the economy, while investors still remained cautious ahead of next week’s U.S. presidential election.

fell 0.12% to 1.1091, pulling away from Thursday’s three-and-a-half week high of 1.1128.

The U.S. Labor Department said 161,000 jobs in October, disappointing expectations for an increase of 175,000. However, September’s figure was revised to a 191,000 gain from a previously estimated rise of 156,000.

The ticked down to 4.9% last month from 5.0% in September, in line with expectations.

Data also showed that rose 0.4% in October, exceeding expectations for an uptick of 0.3%.

A separate report showed that the narrowed to $36.44 billion in September from $40.46 billion in October. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to hit $37.80 billion in September.

Meanwhile, investors remained cautious after the FBI said last Friday that it would review more emails related to Hillary Clinton’s private email use while she was secretary of state.

The news sparked fresh uncertainty over Mrs. Clinton’s election prospects ahead of the November 8 vote, amid fears over the implications of a victory for Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Eslewhere, edged up 0.14% to 1.2476, close to the previous session’s one-month peak of 1.2496.

The pound remained supported after on Thursday that the government does not have the authority to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to start the UK’s exit from the EU without a parliamentary vote.

added 0.17% to 103.16, off Thursday’s one-month low of 102.54, while inched 0.09% lower to 0.9730.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with down 0.13% at 0.7673 and with shedding 0.35% to 0.7306.

Earlier Friday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that rose 0.6% in September, beating expectations for a 0.4% gain.

Meanwhile, gained 0.37% to trade at 1.3446, the highest since March.

Statistics Canada reported that rose by 43,900 in October, beating expectations for a 10,000 decline, after an increase of 67,200 the previous month.

The remained unchanged at 7.0% last month, as expected.

However, widened to C$4.08 billion in September from C$1.99 billion the previous month, confounding expectations for a deficit of C$1.70 billion.

The , which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.09% at 97.28, just off Thursday’s three-week lows of 97.07.

Dollar edges higher after mixed U.S. economic reports