Dollar rises on strong U.S. jobs data

The U.S. dollar rose against major currencies in late New York trading on Friday as positive jobs data showed the U.S. employment situation is improving. The U.S. Labor Department reported that U.S. economy added 200, 000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate dipped to 8.5 percent from 8.7 percent. The upbeat data provided further evidence that the U.S. jobs situation is improving. The euro continued its downward trend against the dollar as concerns about the European debt crisis lingered in the market. The shared currency dipped to a 16-month low of 1.2721 in mid-day trading on Friday. The dollar was lifted by optimism on U.S. economic recovery and the weak euro. The dollar index gained 0.33 percent to 81.21 on Friday. In late Friday trading, the dollar bought 77.02 Japanese yen, comparing with 77.18 from late Thursday. The euro fell to 1.2724 dollars from 1.2782. The British pound also fell to 1.5426 dollars from 1.5483. The dollar rose from 0.9533 Swiss francs to 0.9550, and also climbed to 1.0266 Canadian dollars from 1.0192.