Dollar mixed vs. rivals as markets eye U.S. jobs data

The dollar was mixed against the other major currencies on Friday, as markets were jittery ahead of the release of a highly-anticipated U.S. nonfarm payrolls report later in the trading session. Dollar mixed vs. rivals as markets eye U.S. jobs dataDollar mixed against counterparts ahead of

data The dollar edged higher against the euro, with EUR/USD down 0.11% to 1.3705. Official data earlier showed that German factory orders rose rose 0.6% in February, exceeding expectations for a 0.1% gain. Factory orders in January were revised down to a 0.1% increase from a previously estimated 1.2% rise. But the single currency remained under pressure after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi played down the risk of deflation in the euro zone on Thursday, but added that the bank has not ruled out further policy action, including quantitative easing. The comments came after the central bank left rates on hold at a record low 0.25%. Meanwhile, markets were eyeing upcoming U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, to be released later in the day, after payroll processing firm ADP reported on Wednesday that the U.S. private sector added 191,000 jobs last month, slightly below expectations for jobs growth of 195,000. The pound was steady against the dollar, with GBP/USD easing 0.03% to 1.6591. Earlier Friday, official data showed that the U.K. house price index declined by 1.1% in March, confounding expectations for a 0.7% rise, after a 2.4% increase the previous month. The dollar was little changed against the yen, with USD/JPY easing 0.05% to 103.86 and higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF adding 0.12% to 0.8923. The greenback was steady to lower against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD edging up 0.14% to 0.9245, NZD/USD inching 0.05% lower to 0.8542 and USD/CAD slipping 0.15% to 1.1019. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.03% to 80.64