News: FOREX-Dollar on track for worst week in a month, soft U.S. jobs data shrugged off

• Dollar falls to 2-1/2-year low
• Euro, Swiss franc headed for best week in a month
• U.S. November jobs data disappoints
• Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

(Adds comment, updates prices)

The dollar fell to a 2-1/2-year low on Friday, on track for its worst week in a month, as investors shrugged off a November U.S. non-farm payrolls report that badly missed expectations and focused on a flurry of positive vaccine news.

By early afternoon though, the dollar trimmed its losses to trade little changed to slightly lower on the day ahead of the weekend.

Upbeat announcements on COVID-19 vaccines have helped drive a rally in riskier currencies at the expense of the safe-haven dollar.

The euro and Swiss franc, in contrast, were headed for their best week against the dollar in a month. The single European currency touched a 2-1/2-year high, while the Swiss franc rose to its highest in nearly six years.

Data showed that U.S. non-farm payrolls increased by 245,000 jobs last month after rising by 610,000 in October. That was the smallest gain since the jobs recovery started in May.

Despite the weak jobs data, Don Curren, market strategist at Cambridge Global Payments, said "the key drivers in foreign exchange are likely to remain the two narratives that have dominated trading in recent sessions - excitement over the renewed possibility that Congress might forge another fiscal stimulus package in the U.S., and enthusiasm about the rapid progress being made on the development of vaccines for COVID-19."

In early-afternoon trading, the dollar index was slightly lower at 90.64 =USD , after earlier falling to 90.471, the lowest in more than 2-1/2 years. On the week, the index was down 1.3%, on pace for its largest weekly loss since early November.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday there was momentum behind talks on a coronavirus relief bill and that a bipartisan proposal could be the basis for relief negotiations. That should keep risk appetite higher.

The euro, on the other hand, has been one of the biggest winners from recent dollar weakness, breaking decisively above $1.20 this week.

The single currency rose to $1.2177, its highest since April 2018, and was last up slightly at $1.2146 EUR=EBS .

Against the Swiss franc, the dollar continued its descent, dropping to a nearly six-year low of 0.8886 franc CHF=EBS . The greenback was last down 0.1% at 0.8902.

The dollar gained 0.2% against the yen JPY= to 104.08 yen JPY=EBS . Ulas Akincilar, head of trading at the online trading platform INFINOX, said despite the weaker-than-expected U.S. employment number, it was a "finely balanced jobs report."

"The calculation is that the slowing jobs market will spur U.S. lawmakers into agreeing a fiscal stimulus to match the Fed's monetary support," he added.

Sterling, meanwhile, rose 0.2% against the dollar to $1.3485 GBP=D3 , helped by the greenback's broad weakness. It hit a 2-1/2-year peak on expectations that Britain will likely be able to clinch a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union this weekend.

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	Currency bid prices at 1:26PM (1826 GMT) 

 Description	  RIC		 Last		   U.S. Close  Pct Change	 YTD Pct	 High Bid	Low Bid 
											  Previous				   Change				  
											  Session											
 Dollar index	  =USD	   90.6240		90.6930	 -0.07%		 +0.00%	  +90.7670	+90.4710 
 Euro/Dollar	   EUR=EBS	$1.2147		$1.2145	 +0.03%		 +8.36%	  +1.2177	 +1.2132 
 Dollar/Yen		JPY=D3	 104.0850	   103.9000	+0.19%		 -4.16%	  +104.2350   +103.7800 
 Euro/Yen		  EURJPY=	126.44		 126.11	  +0.26%		 +3.67%	  +126.6700   +126.0500 
 Dollar/Swiss	  CHF=EBS	0.8902		 0.8910	  -0.08%		 -8.00%	  +0.8917	 +0.8886 
 Sterling/Dollar   GBP=D3	 1.3485		 1.3448	  +0.26%		 +1.66%	  +1.3538	 +1.3409 
 Dollar/Canadian   CAD=D3	 1.2786		 1.2864	  -0.60%		 -1.57%	  +1.2873	 +1.2785 
 Aussie/Dollar	 AUD=D3	 0.7441		 0.7442	  +0.01%		 +6.06%	  +0.7443	 +0.7410 
 Euro/Swiss		EURCHF=	1.0814		 1.0818	  -0.04%		 -0.35%	  +1.0848	 +1.0811 
 Euro/Sterling	 EURGBP=	0.9006		 0.9026	  -0.22%		 +6.53%	  +0.9067	 +0.8984 
 NZ				NZD=D3	 0.7044		 0.7078	  -0.51%		 +4.65%	  +0.7079	 +0.7028 
 Dollar/Dollar																				   

 Dollar/Norway	 NOK=D3	 8.7720		 8.7370	  +0.58%		 +0.18%	  +8.7975	 +8.7480 
 Euro/Norway	   EURNOK=	10.6596		10.6288	 +0.29%		 +8.35%	  +10.6826	+10.6182 
 Dollar/Sweden	 SEK=	   8.4350		 8.4256	  -0.07%		 -9.76%	  +8.4578	 +8.4190 
 Euro/Sweden	   EURSEK=	10.2468		10.2539	 -0.07%		 -2.12%	  +10.2820	+10.2440