FRANKFURT — The euro rose against the dollar Friday ahead of crucial U.S. jobs data. The 16-nation euro bought $1.4877 in European morning trading, up slightly from the $1.4868 it bought late Thursday in New York. The British pound also rose to $1.6617 from $1.6586, while the dollar fell against the Japanese yen, buying 90.42 against 90.78 yen late Thursday in New York. Investors are looking ahead to a U.S. government report on October employment Friday. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the U.S. unemployment rate to rise to 9.9 percent from the 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September. Nevertheless, there are hopes in the markets that the pace of job losses in the U.S. will ease over coming months. "On balance, although labor conditions remain weak we anticipate further improvement taking hold in the coming months as conditions gradually improve," IdeaGlobal analysts said in a Friday research note. On Thursday, the European Central Bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 1 percent, and said it expected some moderate economic growth in the coming months. The bank said it also expected inflation to rise from the current negative levels in the coming months. The ECB's main interest rate is higher than those at the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve. Higher interest rates can support a currency as investors move funds to where they earn higher returns.

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