Once again, as on every first Friday of every month in recent months, the Non-Farms Payroll figures gave little indication of where the economy might be heading, and gave no real indication of the effects on the currency markets.

U.S. non-farm payrolls slumped 85K in December after rising a revised 4K in the previous month amid expectations for a flat reading, while the annual rate of unemployment held steady at 10.0% for the second consecutive month.

Initially, the Dollar weakened heavily against the Euro on the disappointing figures, and despite a significant retracement in the afternoon, ended up closing at 1.4416. The Dollar faired slightly better against the Pound and by the end of the day finished pretty much flat on the day, at 1.6025.