The dollar is up against all of its major rivals Friday afternoon, but has pared its gains against its major European rivals. The release of the stronger than expected November jobs report sparked the rise in the currency at the end of the trading week.
Employment in the U.S. increased by more than anticipated in the month of November, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday, although the report also showed weaker than expected wage growth during the month.
The report said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 228,000 jobs in November after surging up by a revised 244,000 in October.
Economists had expected employment to climb by 200,000 jobs compared to the addition of 261,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said the unemployment rate came in at 4.1 percent in November, unchanged from October and in line with economist estimates.
Reflecting a deterioration in consumer expectations, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing an unexpected decrease in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of December. The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for December fell to 96.8 from the final November reading of 98.5. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 99.0.
A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed wholesale inventories in the U.S. decreased by more than expected in the month of October. The report said wholesale inventories fell by 0.5 percent in October after inching up by a downwardly revised 0.1 percent in September.
Economists had expected inventories to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar rose to over a 2-week high of $1.1728 against the Euro Friday morning, but has since eased back to around $1.1765.
Germany's exports declined unexpectedly in October, while imports rebounded at a faster-than-expected pace on domestic demand, data from Destatis showed Friday.
Exports decreased 0.4 percent month-on-month in October, the same as seen in September. Shipments were forecast to grow 1 percent. This was the second straight decline in exports.
Meanwhile, imports advanced 1.8 percent, reversing September's 1.1 percent decrease. Economists had forecast a 1 percent increase.
As a result, the trade surplus fell to a seasonally adjusted EUR 19.9 billion from EUR 21.9 billion in the previous month.
Germany's labor cost growth slowed slightly in the third quarter, data from Destatis showed Friday. The index of labor cost increased 2.2 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, following the second quarter's 2.3 percent rise.
France's industrial production grew for the second straight month in October, defying economists' forecast for a slight decline, data from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. Industrial production climbed 1.9 percent month-over-month in October, faster than the 0.8 percent rise in September. Meanwhile, economists had expected a 0.1 percent fall for the month.
The U.K. reached a divorce deal with the European Union, setting stage to move on to future trade talks post-Brexit.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker confirmed that enough progress had been made in talks to proceed to the second phase of negotiations.
The deal ruled out a hard border for Northern Ireland and guaranteed the rights of three million EU citizens in the UK.
The buck climbed to a high of $1.3353 against the pound sterling Friday, but has since retreated to around $1.34.
UK industrial production remained unchanged in October, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday. Industrial production remained flat, as expected, after expanding 0.7 percent in September.
The UK visible trade deficit increased in October after narrowing a month ago, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. The trade in goods showed a shortfall of GBP 10.78 billion compared to a GBP 10.45 billion deficit in September. The expected level was GBP 11.5 billion.
The greenback has advanced to around Y113.525 against the Japanese Yen this afternoon, from an early low of Y113.108.
Japan's gross domestic product was bumped up to a seasonally adjusted gin of 0.67 percent on quarter in the third quarter of 2017, the Cabinet Office said on Friday. That exceeded expectations for a gain of 0.4 percent after the November 14 preliminary reading suggested a gain of 0.3 percent.
Japan posted a current account surplus of 2.176 trillion yen in October, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday, up 40.7 percent on year. The headline figure exceeded forecasts for a surplus of 1.730 trillion yen and was down from 2.271 trillion yen in September.
Overall bank lending in Japan was up 2.7 percent on year in November, the Bank of Japan said on Friday, coming in at 518.099 trillion yen. That was below expectations for a gain of 2.8 percent, which would have been unchanged from the previous month.
Total labor cash earnings in Japan increased at a slower-than-expected pace in October, preliminary report from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed Friday. Gross earnings climbed 0.6 percent year-over-year in October, slower than the 0.9 percent rise in September. That was also below the 0.8 percent increase economists had forecast.
A measure of peoples' assessment of the Japanese economy increased unexpectedly in November to the strongest level in nearly four years, survey figures from the Cabinet Office showed Friday. The current index of Economy Watchers' survey climbed to 55.1 in November from 52.2 in October. Meanwhile, economists had expected the index to drop slightly to 52.1.
