Sterling fell more than half a cent against the dollar on Friday after a bigger-than-expected fall in U.S. employment raised concerns about the extent of the recovery in the world's largest economy.
The data showed U.S. employers cut a deeper-than-expected 190,000 jobs in October, driving the unemployment rate to 10.2 percent, the highest in 26-1/2 years.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected payrolls to drop by 175,000 and the jobless rate to edge up to 9.9 percent from 9.8 percent in September.
Following the data, sterling fell to a session low of $1.6636 from around $1.6580 beforehand, as the weaker data encouraged investors to trim exposure to perceived riskier currencies against the safe haven dollar.
(Reporting by Jessica Mortimer)
LONDON (Reuters)