U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 148,000 jobs last month. Economists were forecasting job gains of 190,000. Employment data for October and November data were revised to show 9,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported.

The dollar briefly slipped after the softer-than-forecast number, but has since regained momentum.

Fed funds futures have priced in a more than 60 percent chance the U.S. central bank will hike interest rates in March, according to CME's Fedwatch.

"We do not see anything in the current report that will dissuade the consensus view that a hike is forthcoming in March," said Marvin Loh, senior global market strategist, at BNY Mellon in Boston.

He added that while the report was disappointing given the significant headline miss, it was mostly consistent with the late stages of the U.S. economy's current expansion.

"We have had eight years of steady employment gains, representing one of the longest expansionary periods that has pushed unemployment to near its lowest levels in 50 years," Loh said.

Another bright spot in the U.S. December employment report was the rise in wage growth, analysts said.

Average hourly earnings rose 9 cents, or 0.3 percent, in December after gaining 0.1 percent in the prior month. That lifted the annual increase in wages to 2.5 percent from 2.4 percent in November.

In late trading, the dollar gained 0.3 percent against the yen to 113.14 , while the euro fell 0.2 percent versus the dollar to $1.2042 .

That put the dollar index, a measure of the greenback's value against six major currencies, up 0.1 percent on the day.

Some analysts still expect dollar weakness to be the prevailing theme this year because other central banks such as the European Central Bank and Bank of Canada are on a tightening path as well, enhancing the allure of their currencies.

"The Fed is no longer the only game in town," said Jane Foley, senior FX strategist at Rabobank in London. "There has been a shift in market focus away from the tightening cycle of the Fed to that of other central banks in the G10."

Meanwhile, other data on Friday showed the U.S. services sector also cooled slightly in December. That non-manufacturing index data had little currency impact, however.

========================================================

Currency bid prices at 3:29PM (2029 GMT)

Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid

Previous Change

Session

Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.2042 $1.2067 -0.21% +0.38% +1.2083 +1.2021

Dollar/Yen JPY= 113.1100 112.7400 +0.33% +0.39% +113.3000 +112.7300

Euro/Yen EURJPY= 136.23 136.06 +0.12% +0.78% +136.6200 +136.0300

Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9750 0.9744 +0.06% +0.07% +0.9784 +0.9740

Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3566 1.3551 +0.11% +0.40% +1.3581 +1.3525

Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.2405 1.2485 -0.64% -1.37% +1.2513 +1.2355

Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7874 0.7863 +0.14% +0.94% +0.7874 +0.7836

ar

Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1743 1.1760 -0.14% +0.46% +1.1778 +1.1734

Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8875 0.8905 -0.34% -0.09% +0.8913 +0.8868

NZ NZD= 0.7179 0.7153 +0.36% +1.31% +0.7186 +0.7146

Dollar/Dollar

Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.0372 8.0634 -0.32% -2.07% +8.0931 +8.0311

Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.6798 9.7363 -0.58% -1.71% +9.7535 +9.6737

Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.1427 8.1360 -0.12% -0.72% +8.1640 +8.1267

Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 9.8077 9.8190 -0.12% -0.32% +9.8376 +9.7880

(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Susan Thomas and Meredith Mazzilli)

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss