Forex - EUR/USD swings on U.S. jobs data

Forexpros - The euro zigzagged against the dollar on Friday, climbing as investors ran towards riskier yet more rewarding asset classes in wake of surprisingly positive U.S. unemployment figures before weakening on fears stemming from delays in Greek debt restructuring talks.

The euro was down against the dollar early Friday afternoon, with EUR/USD hitting 1.3109, down 0.26%, firming from a session low of 1.3067 and off from a high of 1.3206.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.3027, Wednesday’s low, and resistance at 1.3218, Wednesday’s high.

Earlier Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the country added a net 243,000 nonfarm payrolls to the economy in January, a figure that soared well above expectations and brought the overall unemployment rate down to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent in December.

The news sparked demand for riskier assets like stocks in both the U.S. and Europe, and investors sold dollars to make those investments.

However, ongoing delays between Greece and its private creditors over debt restructuring negotiations dampened spirits in Europe, while the strong jobs data in the U.S. iced some expectations that the Federal Reserve would unleash a third round of quantitative easing to improve jobs and price stability, which was bullish for the dollar.

The euro, meanwhile, was down against the pound and up against the yen, with EUR/GBP losing 0.11% to 0.8307 and EUR/JPY up 0.26% at 100.44.

On Monday, Swiss unemployment figures and inflation figures are due out as are numbers on German factory orders.

In the U.S on Monday, the Federal Budget Balance is due out as well.