The dollar fell from almost a two- week high against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners as U.S. employers added more jobs than forecast in July and the unemployment rate declined, damping demand for refuge. The yen pared gains against the dollar a day after Japan moved to weaken it as stocks erased losses. The greenback still headed for a weekly gain versus most major peers as investors sought safety amid concern the U.S. recovery slowed and Europe’s debt crisis may spread. “This is a good number,” said Brian Taylor, chief currency trader at Manufacturers & Traders Trust Co. in Buffalo, New York. “There’s still going to be some caution just because even though the numbers are actually good and U.S. positive, there’s still a global issue going on.” The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to measure the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners including the euro and yen, fell 0.1 percent to 75.044 at 8:52 a.m. in New York, from 75.124 yesterday. It touched 75.309 yesterday, the highest level since July 19. Payrolls rose by 117,000 workers after a 46,000 increase in June that was more than originally estimated, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey called for a July gain of 85,000. The jobless rate dropped to 9.1 percent as more Americans left the labor force, while average hourly earnings climbed 0.4 percent. Fed Meeting Slowing growth puts more pressure on Federal Reserve policy makers meeting next week to try to steer the world’s largest economy away from another recession at a time when inflation is also accelerating. The franc weakened from a record against the euro after the Swiss National Bank said it won’t exclude any measures to curb the currency’s advance. Bank President Philipp Hildebrand said policy makers won’t exclude any measures to curb the currency’s advance. Switzerland’s currency and the dollar rose yesterday versus all of their most-traded peers as investors sought safety. Stocks plunged, pushing the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to the biggest decline since February 2009 and burnishing the safety appeal of U.S. Treasuries. U.S. two-year note yields fell yesterday to a record low 0.26 percent. The Dollar Index surged as much as 1.7 percent, the most since June 15. U.S., European Debt The franc reached record highs this week against the euro, dollar and pound after strengthening as the months-long debate over the U.S. debt compromise and speculation that Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis would worsen damped appetite for higher- risk assets. The franc is viewed as a haven because Switzerland has a current-account surplus, the broadest measure of trade, meaning it doesn’t need to rely on foreign capital to balance its books. The currency fell on Aug. 3 after the Swiss central bank lowered its target for the three-month London interbank offered rate to “as close to zero as possible.” It said the franc was s “massively overvalued” and that its strength jeopardized Switzerland’s economy. The yen dropped and the franc gained yesterday after Japan sold its currency to stem its rise. The euro fell versus the dollar as the European Central Bank kept its interest rate unchanged, resumed bond purchases and said it will offer banks additional cash to ease financial-market tension. Third Time Yesterday was the third time Japan sold its currency to support exporters after six years of a hands-off approach that ended in September 2010. Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said the action was unilateral. It probably spent 4 trillion yen ($51 billion) in the operation, the Nikkei newspaper reported, without saying where it obtained the information. President Barack Obama signed a bill Aug. 2 that raised the nation’s debt ceiling and lowers federal spending, fueling concern budget cuts will weigh on the U.S. economy. The dollar is the worst performer this year among 10 developed-nation currencies, according to Bloomberg Correlation- Weighted Currency Indexes, falling 6 percent. The biggest winner is the franc, up 18 percent. To contact the reporters for this story: Joe Ragazzo in New York at jragazzo@bloomberg.net; John Detrixhe in New York at jdetrixhe1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net

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