US dollar jumps against a basket of major currencies after strong jobs report

US dollar jumped on Friday against a basket of major currencies after data showed that employers added more jobs than expected in January, reducing the opportunity for the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) to cut interest rates soon.

According to Reuters, non-farm payrolls rose by 353,000 jobs last month, exceeding economists’ expectations for an increase of 180,000, and average hourly wages rose 0.6 percent after rising 0.4 percent in December.

The dollar has declined in the past few days as US Treasury bond yields declined, despite Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments on Wednesday that an interest rate cut in March was unlikely. Treasuries benefited from increased demand for safe haven investment as a result of renewed concerns about the financial health of US regional banks.

The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies to 103.73 in the latest trading from 103 before the release of the jobs report, an increase of 0.67 percent since the beginning of the trading session.

The euro fell to $1.08065 from about 1.08830 earlier. The dollar rose to 147.86 yen from about 146.65 before the data was released.