- U.S. payrolls grow far less than forecast in February
- U.S. jobless rate dips below 4 pct, wage rise more than expected
- Swedish crown hits over 16-year low on Riksbank's dovish turn
- Euro on track for weekly loss of 1.7 percent
- Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Updates market action, changes dateline, previous LONDON)
The dollar fell against most major currencies on Friday as data showed U.S. employers hired far fewer workers than forecast in February, although the jobless rate fell and wages grew more than expected.
The Swedish crown SEK=D3 fell to a 16-year low, as Riksbank joined its central bank counterparts in Europe and Canada in adopting a cautious outlook.
The greenback reversed some of its biggest one-day gains in nearly seven months on Thursday as the European Central Bank and other overseas central banks hinted they might pump more stimulus, either by buying more assets or lowering interest rates to help their struggling economies.
Traders sold the dollar a bit more early Friday after a measly 20,000-job increase in domestic payrolls last month, far fewer than 180,000 forecast among analysts polled by Reuters. But traders were encouraged by the unemployment rate falling back below 4 percent and the average hourly earnings accelerating by 0.4 percent.
"The dollar sold off mildly. It doesn't look that bad when you look at the details," said Peter Ng, senior currency trader at Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, California.
At 10:34 a.m. EST (1534 GMT), an index that tracks the dollar against a basket of six currencies .DXY was down 0.33 percent at 97.341. It touched 97.710 on Thursday, the highest since Dec. 14.
On the week, the dollar index was on track to gain 0.85 percent.
Much of the greenback's weekly rise stemmed from a dramatic sell-off in the euro on Thursday when the ECB offered a fresh round of cheap loans to banks and pushed back any plan to raise rates into 2020.
The common currency EUR=EBS rose 0.35 percent to $1.1232, rebounding from a 20-month low of $1.11765 reached on Thursday.
Friday's rise reduced the euro's weekly loss against the dollar to 1.17 percent, which would be its steepest one-week decline since late September.
Among other G10 currencies, the Swedish crown SEK=D3 succumbed to further selling pressure, hitting 9.4890 on Friday, its weakest since August 2002.
The crown slipped again a day after Swedish Central Bank Governor Stefan Ingves struck a dovish note in a statement to Parliament. Data showed Swedish house prices fell in the three months ending in February.
"Yesterday, the Riksbank suggested that its forecasts for repo rate hikes were simply that – a forecast but not a promise," HSBC strategists said in a daily note.
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 10:36AM (1536 GMT)Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1230 $1.1192 +0.34% -2.08% +1.1241 +1.1185 Dollar/Yen JPY= 111.0300 111.5800 -0.49% +0.70% +111.6400 +110.8000 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 124.72 124.90 -0.14% -1.19% +125.0200 +124.2800 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 1.0069 1.0111 -0.42% +2.60% +1.0118 +1.0071 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3034 1.3084 -0.38% +2.17% +1.3108 +1.3029 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3428 1.3453 -0.19% -1.53% +1.3467 +1.3391 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7044 0.7013 +0.44% -0.07% +0.7051 +0.7004 arEuro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1310 1.1320 -0.09% +0.50% +1.1333 +1.1309 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8615 0.8553 +0.72% -4.11% +0.8619 +0.8548 NZ NZD= 0.6799 0.6752 +0.70% +1.22% +0.6809 +0.6752 Dollar/DollarDollar/Norway NOK= 8.7797 8.7773 +0.03% +1.63% +8.8194 +8.7727 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.8607 9.8238 +0.38% -0.46% +9.8797 +9.8183 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.4435 9.4555 +0.23% +5.35% +9.4988 +9.4439 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.6070 10.5829 +0.23% +3.34% +10.6470 +10.5820 <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ GRAPHIC-U.S. unemployment interactive http//tmsnrt.rs/2RIGI1OGRAPHIC-Euro http//tmsnrt.rs/2C8AXF1
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