Summary "It's pretty shocking," said John Vail, the chief global strategist at Nikko Asset Management.
TOKYO (AFP) - The dollar faced selling pressure against major currencies in Asia on Monday after disappointing US jobs data cast a pall over the outlook for higher interest rates.
The greenback fell to 119.11 yen in Tokyo from 119.77 yen on Friday, while the euro rose to $1.0982 and 130.84 yen from $1.0879 and 130.16 yen.
Global trading was thin, with many markets shuttered for public holidays.
The dollar s drop came after the release Friday of closely watched US payrolls data, which showed employers sharply cut back on hiring in March.
The Labor Department on Friday said world s leading economy generated 126,000 net new jobs in March, half of what was expected and the worst month since December 2013.
"Non-farm payrolls fell short of market expectations by a long way," Toshiya Yamauchi, a senior analyst in Tokyo at Ueda Harlow Ltd., a margin-trading-services provider, wrote in a note to clients.
"Sentiment for dollar selling is set to continue," he said.
The department also trimmed 69,000 from the two previous months figures, dimming the picture for growth after a year that averaged 287,000 new hires a month across the country.
"It s pretty shocking," said John Vail, the chief global strategist at Nikko Asset Management.
"This report obviously does push out expectations for a Fed hike to some degree, although we all know that the data can change very rapidly."
