The dollar rose on Friday after the December U.S. jobs report showed the strongest wage growth since 2009 but a slowdown in hiring. The euro dropped 0.7 percent against the greenback to $1.0534 and the pound retreated 1.1 percent to $1.2288.
Traders expect that steady wage growth will help to drive prices and inflation higher, which would then support the case for the Fed to raise interest-rates.
The dollar was also broadly stronger against emerging-market currencies. In offshore markets, the yuan fell 0.6 percent to 6.8304 per dollar after a four-day climb. The greenback rose 0.8% against the Singapore dollar to 1.4396 but was was down 0.8% against the Mexican peso to 21.2542 as the Mexican central bank again intervened to support its currency. The Canadian dollar was little changed at C$1.3263 against its U.S. counterpart after the country posted its first trade surplus in more than two years and full-time jobs surged. While the Turkish lira was down 1.4 percent after touching a record low Thursday.
Gold fell on Friday’s job data closing down 0.7% to $1,173.40 a troy ounce for February delivery on the the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Silver for March delivery was down 0.7% at $16.51 a troy ounce while April platinum fell 0.6% to $970.60 a troy ounce and March palladium rose 2.7% to $758.35 a troy ounce.
Copper slipped 0.6 percent to $254.55 and natural gas futures slid 0.7 percent to $3.25.
Meanwhile oil prices closed for a fourth consecutive week higher, as confidence in lower production levels outweighed building oil products in storage. For the week, both U.S. crude and Brent gained 0.5%.
WTI for February delivery settled up 0.4% or 23 cents on Friday to $53.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the global benchmark, settled up 0.4% or 21 cents to $57.10 a barrel.
News of Royal Dutch Shell PLC decision to close it’s Trans-Niger Bonny Light pipeline help buoy prices. The pipeline pumps 140,000 barrels a day but highlights the continuing struggle with attacks on Nigeria’s oil infrastructure.
In equities, U.S. stocks rose in the wake of the U.S. jobs data. The Dow rose to a high of 19999.63 but could not pass the 20000 level closing at 19975. A weekly gain of 1 percent. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent to a record 2,279.28 at 4 p.m. in New York. A rise of 1.7 percent in the week, the most since Dec. 9. While the the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6 percent closing at an all-time highs of 5521.06.
