NEW YORK, Oct 8 (AFP) - The dollar slumped Friday after disappointing US jobs data for September raised concerns that the world's largest economy was not as robust as earlier believed.
The euro rose to 1.2408 dollars at 2100 GMT from 1.2284 late on Thursday in New York.
The dollar fell to 109.50 yen from 111.15 on Thursday.
Official figures showed that US employers hired 96,000 extra workers in September, far fewer than the 150,000 expected, and providing ammunition for Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry ahead of Friday's second campaign debate with President George W. Bush.
Shortly after the data release, the euro jumped over a cent to a high of 1.2424 dollars while the US currency slipped below the 110-yen mark.
"The knee-jerk reaction to the data was unsurprisingly negative," said Mitul Kotecha, head of global currency research at CALYON.
However, Kotecha said the data was unlikely to push the euro above the 1.1900-1.2450 dollars range it has hovered within over the past months.
Some said the data cast doubts on whether the US economy has emerged from its "soft spot," allowing the Federal Reserve to boost interest rates that make dollar investments more attractive.
"The onus is on the Fed. Where's the traction (Fed chairman Alan) Greenspan is talking about?" said Peter Frank, a currency strategist with ABN Amro in Chicago.
John Ryding, an analyst at Bear Stearns, agrees that there is "nothing" in Friday's report to discourage the Fed from raising rates another quarter point on November 10.
"We think employment will pick up in the coming months as evidenced by the strong growth in hours worked in the third quarter and the strength of recent labor market surveys," he said.
Despite the data, markets are still pricing in just one more quarter point rate hike in the US this year. US borrowing costs currently stand at 1.75 percent.
In late New York trade, the dollar stood at 1.2505 Swiss francs from 1.2639 Thursday.
The pound was at 1.7947 dollars after 1.7825 late on Thursday.