NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar rose against the euro and yen in choppy trading on Friday after a report showed the U.S. economy created more jobs than expected last month, but gains were capped by wages data that analysts said were disappointing.
That could weigh on the pace of interest rate rises next year as the Federal Reserve grapples with sluggish wages that reflect persistently low inflation, analysts said.The dollar came off three-week highs after the report, while the euro, although still down on the day, recouped some of those losses. U.S. non-farm payrolls rose by 228,000 jobs in November amid broad gains in hiring as distortions from recent hurricanes faded. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising by 200,000 jobs last month.But analysts said average hourly earnings were lower than expected. Average hourly earnings rose five cents or 0.2 percent in November, but economists expected a 0.3 percent rise. The annual increase in wages was also weaker than forecast: the November figure came in at 2.5 percent versus a 2.7 percent expectation."The lack of wage pressure will not alter the Fed's rate hike aspiration in the coming meeting, but will certainly be a major discussion point for the new Fed chairman in 2018," said Marvin Loh, senior global market strategist at BNY Mellon in Boston.Following the data, the dollar pared gains against the yen but was still higher on the day at 113.52 yen