The dollar faced selling pressure against major currencies in Asia on Monday after disappointing US jobs data cast a pall over the outlook for higher interest rates.
The greenback fell to 119.11 yen in Tokyo from 119.77 yen on Friday, while the euro rose to $1.0982 and 130.84 yen from $1.0879 and 130.16 yen.
Global trading was thin, with many markets shuttered for public holidays.
The dollar’s drop came after the release Friday of closely watched US payrolls data, which showed employers sharply cut back on hiring in March.
The Labour Department on Friday said world’s leading economy generated 126,000 net new jobs in March, half of what was expected and the worst month since December 2013.
“Non-farm payrolls fell short of market expectations by a long way,” Toshiya Yamauchi, a senior analyst in Tokyo at Ueda Harlow Ltd., a margin-trading-services provider, wrote in a note to clients.
“Sentiment for dollar selling is set to continue,” he said.
The department also trimmed 69,000 from the two previous months’ figures, dimming the picture for growth after a year that averaged 287,000 new hires a month across the country.
“It’s pretty shocking,” said John Vail, the chief global strategist at Nikko Asset Management.
“This report obviously does push out expectations for a Fed hike to some degree, although we all know that the data can change very rapidly.”
— Bloomberg News contributed to this report —
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