Dollar slips on dour jobs report
Greenback sinks against euro, yen as U.S. loses 80,000 jobs in March.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The U.S. dollar fell against major foreign currencies on Friday after a Labor Department report that showed a third consecutive monthly jump in the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits.
The 15-nation euro bought $1.5725, up from $1.5679 late Thursday. The British pound also rose slightly to $1.9960, up from $1.9952 the previous day.
The dollar sunk against the Japanese yen, falling to ¥101.89 from ¥102.35 on Thursday.
U.S. employers sharply cut jobs for the third straight month in March and unemployment rose to a nearly three-year high of 5.1%, according to a Labor Department report released Friday. The report showed a net loss of 80,000 jobs last month, the third straight month that jobs have fallen.
The Labor Department now estimates that the economy has lost 232,000 jobs during the first quarter of 2008.
The dollar has come off its record low against the euro set on Mar. 17 at $1.5904 on some encouraging inflation indicators, but dour economic news of late has sent the dollar sinking again.