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NEW YORK — The dollar climbed Friday after a government report on jobs gave investors hope of an improving job market.
The Labor Department said the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 9 percent in January, the lowest level since April 2009.
The report wasn't all good — it showed that the economy added only 36,000 jobs in January, the smallest amount in four months. But economists mostly attributed that low figure to harsh winter weather, not a longer-term weakening of the job market. A string of other economic reports have suggested the U.S. economy is strengthening.
"People were willing to put an asterisk on this one," said UBS currency strategist Brian Kim in Stamford, Conn.
In mid-morning trading in New York, the euro slid to $1.3562 from $1.3639, retreating further from a three-month high of $1.3861 struck on Wednesday. Fears of a deepening European debt crisis had driven the euro lower since early November, but it has rebounded this year because of hopes of a stronger solution from European Union officials for debt problems.
But that hope may be fully reflected in the euro's value, and the currency could fade as people digest what officials have in store, Kim said. EU officials are meeting in Brussels on Friday to discuss reforms of the currency bloc's union.
The euro had also been bid higher because of expectations that the European Central Bank would lift interest rates to counter inflation. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet tamped down hopes of a rate hike any time soon on Thursday, however. Higher rates tend to support currencies.
In other trading Thursday, the British pound dropped to $1.6050 from $1.6148, while the dollar rose to 81.90 Japanese yen from 81.63 yen. The dollar rose to 0.9582 Swiss franc from 0.9450 Swiss franc, but fell to 98.82 Canadian cents from 99.02 Canadian cents.
