LONDON (AFP) - The dollar was stable against the euro after slumping in the wake of disappointing US jobs data.
The single European currency stood Monday at 1.2408 dollars in early European trading, unchanged from late on Friday in New York.
The dollar traded at 109.23 yen from 109.50 on Friday.
The price of gold fell by almost four dollars as the US currency recovered some poise.
A stronger dollar makes gold, which is priced in the US currency on world markets, more attractive to buyers using other currencies.
The dollar slumped dramatically Friday after disappointing US jobs data for September raised concerns that the world's largest economy was not as robust as earlier thought.
Official figures showed that US employers hired 96,000 extra workers in September, far fewer than the 150,000 expected.
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.
"Although non-farm payroll growth tells us more about the recent past than the near future of US growth, the disappointing rise nevertheless adds to the impression that the economic soft patch is extending over an uncomfortably longer period," HBOS chief currency strategist Steve Pearson said.
"Crunch time for the dollar is approaching," he added, especially as oil prices continued to weigh on the outlook for the US economy.
The price of reference light sweet crude for November delivery hit a new record high of 53.42 dollars a barrel in electronic trading Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Foreign exchange trading was meanwhile quiet with both US and Japanese markets closed Monday for public holidays.
"The market is closed (in Japan), so very quiet start to the week in Asia," Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce economist Audrey Childe-Freeman said.
"With the US closed, expect thin volumes and narrow trading ranges to be at the order of the day," she added.
The euro was changing hands at 1.2408 dollars, unchanged from late on Friday in New York, 135.53 yen (135.90), 0.6907 pounds (0.6911) and 1.5504 Swiss francs (1.5516).
The dollar stood at 109.23 yen (109.50) and 1.2496 Swiss francs (1.2505).
The pound was at 1.7964 dollars (1.7947), 196.24 yen (196.57) and 2.2449 Swiss francs (2.2441).
On the London Bullion Market, the price of an ounce of gold stood at 418.05 dollars against 421.75 late on Friday.