Dollar falls in Asia on pessimism about U.S. economy

The dollar fell in Asia Monday as weak U.S. jobs data released late last week raised expectations of lower U.S. interest rates.

The dollar was trading at 119.92 yen midafternoon in Tokyo, down from 120.13 yen late Friday in New York. The euro rose to US$1.3608 from US$1.3593.

"It's difficult to keep buying the dollar in view of mixed U.S. economic data, but there is little material to drive players to buy the yen," said Hiroshi Imaizumi, senior trader at Resona Bank.

While concerns over a U.S. economic slowdown persist in financial markets, demand for the U.S. unit is still solid versus the yen given wide interest-rate differentials between the two countries, traders said.

A U.S. Labor Department report released Friday last week showed that employers added just 88,000 new jobs to their payrolls in April, the fewest in two and a half years.

The jobless rate edged up to 4.5 percent as job losses spread beyond the struggling manufacturing and construction sectors and into retailing and financial services.

The dollar was mostly lower against other regional currencies, dipping to 8,885 Indonesian rupiah from 8,953 the previous session, 1.5137 Singapore dollar from 1.5174, and 922.8 South Korean won from 927.7.