Sterling and Euro Bounce on Weak US Payrolls Data

The British pound and euro strengthened against the dollar on Friday after the US September payrolls came in lower than expected.

According to Investing.com, sterling rose 0.17% to $1.3224, while the euro gained 0.13% to $1.1258 by 09:07 ET (13:07 GMT).

ING's global head of markets, Chris Turner, said the dollar can largely hold its gains against the euro due to resilient US activity and high energy prices.

The US economy added only 29,000 jobs in September, significantly below forecasts of 85,000-90,000. August's job count was revised down from 162,000 to 133,000, while July's was cut from a gain of 21,000 to a loss of 10,000.

Turner also stated that employment in July and August combined is 60,000 lower than previously reported. He added that the soft US labour force growth would not weigh heavily on US rates or the dollar.