Dollar higher as weak payroll data boosts risk aversion

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

NEW YORK, Dec. 5 (Chinese media) -- The dollar rose against most major currencies

on Friday as a weak report about U.S. non-farm employment boosted risk aversion

in currency trading.

U.S. economy lost 533,000 jobs in November, the largest job loss since

December 1974, the Labor Department reported on Friday. Since the start of the

recession last December, the economy has slashed 1.9 million jobs.

The unemployment rate rose to a 15-year high of 6.7 percent in November. It

was widely expected to rise above 8 percent next year.

The job report drove investors back to safe investments, sending the dollar

up against major currencies. As currency trading was still dominated by risk

aversion, high-yielding currencies were expected to keep falling against the

greenback. The euro could drop to 1.25 dollars level in near future, analysts

said.

The euro bought 1.2691 dollars in late New York trading compared with

1.2793 dollars it bought late Thursday. The pound fell to 1.4698 dollars from

1.4748 dollars.

The dollar rose to 1.2797 Canadian dollars from 1.2772 Canadian dollars,

and rose to 93.12 Japanese yen from 92.34 Japanese yen. It rose to 1.2224 Swiss

francs from 1.1960 Swiss francs.