Euro little changed against dollar, shows signs of rising

The euro was little changed on Monday against the U.S. dollar but showed signs of rising as the possibility of a U.S. interest rate increase diminished amid fewer new jobs being added.

Photo: Euro little changed against dollar, shows signs of rising

The 13-nation euro bought US$1.3172 in morning trading in Europe, up slightly from US$1.3115 in late New York trading on Friday, ahead of a meeting of the Group of 10 in Basel, Switzerland.

The meeting comes as markets recover from the major sell-off two weeks ago that caused them to plunge before eventually leveling off and climbing back into positive territory.

On Friday, the U.S. Labor Department reported the economy added 97,000 new jobs in February, the fewest in two years, as bad winter weather forced construction companies to cut 62,000 jobs, the most since 1991.

The unemployment rate dipped to 4.5 percent in February from 4.6 percent the month before. Economists had predicted it would remain unchanged.

The pound slowly crept back upward to US$1.9410 from US$1.9293, reports AP.

The dollar bought 118.12 Japanese yen compared with 118.15 yen late Friday in New York after Japan revised upward its economic growth figures for the fourth quarter to an annual pace of 5.5 percent.