Xinhua, New York :
The US dollar retreated against most major currencies Friday after data showed US economy added less jobs than expected in August.
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in August and the unemployment rate edged down to 6.1 percent from 6.2 percent in July, said the U.S. Labor Department.
The less-than-expected jobs report fueled market speculations that the Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates earlier, which exerted pressure on the dollar.
In the previous session, the euro/dollar rate slumped below the key level of 1.3000 after the European Central Bank unexpectedly cut benchmark interest rates by 10 basis points to 0.05 percent.
In addition, the central bank will purchase a broad portfolio of asset-backed securities and euro-denominated covered bonds.
In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.2958 dollars from 1.2939 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.6331 dollars from 1.6334 dollars. The Australian dollar climbed to 0.9376 dollar from 0.9351 dollars.
