The euro fell versus the dollar Friday morning, after an unexpectedly strong U.S. jobs report showed American employers added 243,000 workers in January, following an upwardly revised 157,000 additional jobs created in December.
Payrolls rose at the fastest pace since April 2011, driving the unemployment rate down to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent. The January jobless rate was the lowest in two years, and average hourly earnings were up 0.2 percent. T
The euro ticked higher immediately after the jobs report, improving to $1.3175, but fell a penny from there to $1.3070.
Traders shrugged off encouraging news from Europe.
The Euro zone private economy stabilized in January as initially estimated, final data from Markit Economics showed Friday. The final Markit Composite Output Index came in at 50.4 in January, up from 48.3 in December.
Eurozone retail sales declined unexpectedly in December as consumers were reluctant to spend even during the Christmas season, official data revealed Friday.
Retail sales were down 0.4 percent on a monthly basis in December, marking a second consecutive fall, while economists had expected a 0.3 percent rise. The decline for November was revised to 0.4 percent from 0.8 percent.
The euro rallied to GBP 0.8330 versus the sterling, paring recent losses.
The U.K. service sector expanded at the strongest pace in ten months in January, reviving hopes that the economy could avoid a recession and rebound in the first quarter of this year.
The latest survey by Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply revealed Friday that the headline business activity index rose to 56, the highest reading since March 2011, from 54 in December. Economists had forecast a decline to 53.3.
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