Dollar Plunges as Weak Jobs Data Slows Rate Hike Fears

The US dollar plummeted on Friday after the release of weak jobs data for July, which suggests that the Federal Reserve may not raise interest rates in the near future.

According to the report, the US economy lost 23,000 jobs last month, contrary to expectations of 80,000 to 100,000 new posts being created. This downward revision to previous months' job numbers has 'likely to revive concerns among Fed officials about the health of the labour market and make them less inclined to commit to near-term tightening', said Thomas Ryan, an economist at Capital Economics.

The decline in the dollar was accompanied by a surge in stocks, with nearly every European market closing higher. The Paris, Frankfurt, and Milan markets reached new all-time highs, while Wall Street indices flirted with record levels for the Dow and S&P 500.