Dollar extends gains despite disappointing jobs report

The US dollar rose against most of its counterparts on Friday, lifted by safe-haven demand as investors were spooked after the release of disappointing US jobs report.

The US Department of Labor revealed that the US economy has lost around 701,000 jobs in March, sharply lower than estimates of losing 100,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate jumped to 4.4% in March vs. 3.5% during February.

House of Representatives Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, called on the Trump administration to support small businesses to prevent further job losses.

President Donald Trump warned that the US will face "very, very painful two weeks" due to the coronavirus pandemic, and his administration estimated that between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths will occur from the virus peak even if the social distancing measures were followed.

The dollar index rose 0.5% to 100.6 points as of 18:04 GMT, after it hit a high of 100.8 and a low of 100.1.