Forex: Friday’s review

The dollar strengthened to a two-year high against the euro as investors sought safety after U.S. employers added fewer jobs in June than forecast.

Payrolls increased by 80,000 jobs after a revised gain of 77,000 in May, Labor Department data showed in Washington. Economists projected an increase of 100,000, according to the median estimate. Private employment, which excludes government agencies, grew 84,000 in June, the weakest in 10 months.

The euro weakened earlier as Spanish industrial production adjusted for the number of working days fell 6.1 percent in May from a year earlier, after an 8.3 percent decline in April, the National Statistics Institute said in Madrid. Spain’s recession probably intensified in the second quarter as Europe’s debt crisis worsened, the central bank said on June 27.

The Spanish 10-year yield rose as much as 26 basis points, or 0.26 percentage point, to 7.04 percent after jumping 37 basis points.

The pound rose for a third day against the euro as traders bet the Bank of England’s bond-purchase program will weigh less on the currency than the policies of other central banks.