Dollar climbs broadly after strong jobs data

The U.S. dollar rose across the board Friday, hitting its highest level since July 2010 as a stronger than expected U.S. jobs data backed up expectations the Federal Reserve would start reducing its asset purchases as early as September.

Futures traders were also betting the U.S. central bank will start hiking short-term interest rates by September next year, which would make dollar assets more attractive.

Almost all the components of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for June were positive for the economy, suggesting that the labor market was stabilizing. Employers added 195,000 jobs, compared with forecasts of 165,000, while the unemployment rate was steady at 7.6 percent as more people entered the workforce.

Also, the U.S. government revised payrolls for April and May to show 70,000 more jobs created than previously reported.

The Euro fell as low as $1.2805 against the dollar, its weakest since May 20. It was last at $1.2830, down 0.65 percent.

Against the yen , the dollar touched a peak of 101.13 yen, its highest since May 31. It was last at 101.014, up 1.0 percent.

The U.S. dollar’s gains pushed the Dollar Index to a high of 84.530, a three-year peak. The dollar index was up 1.6 percent at 84.67. Data as of 01:00 p.m. ET

The Pound , meanwhile, fell to a nearly four-month low of $1.4855 against the dollar and was last at $1.4907, down 1.2 percent.

The Fed`s potential reduction of stimulus measures was in sharp contrast with statements from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, which vowed on Thursday to keep their monetary policies accommodative for some time.