On Friday the greenback remained broadly higher against a basket of other major currencies, as data showed that last month the U.S. economy created slightly less jobs than expected, while unemployment declined in line with market expectations.
The British currency trimmed its gains, but remained supported as the Conservative party won the election.
The Department of Labor said that the U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs last month, below expectations for an increase of 224,000. The number of jobs added in March was revised to 85,000 from a previously estimated 126,000.
The data also indicated that the U.S. unemployment rate declined to 5.4% in April from 5.5% the previous month, in line with expectations.
The pound pulled away from two-and-a-half month highs of 1.5245 hit earlier in the session, with GBP/USD still 0.78% higher at 1.5365.
The U.K. currency remained supported after the Tories won more than half the seats in the Parliament on Thursday, outnumbering Labour and allowing David Cameron to end a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and govern alone.
Earlier in the U.K., industry data showed that U.K. house prices rose 1.6% last month, exceeding expectations for a 0.4% gain. March's figure was revised to an increase of 0.6% from a previously estimated 0.4% rise.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics said earlier that the U.K. trade deficit narrowed to £10.12 billion in March from £10.80 billion, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of £10.34 billion. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to £9.80 billion in March.
The euro edged lower, with EUR/USD down 0.63% to 1.1965.
The dollar was higher against the yen with USD/JPY rising 0.32% to 120.12.
The minutes of the Bank of Japan's April policy meeting earlier showed that a majority of board members were in favor of continuing the bank's agressive asset-buying program. Board member Takahide Kiuchi, however, called on the BOJ to immediately cut its annual bond purchase target by almost half to ¥45 trillion a year. But his proposal was defeated by a 8-1 vote.
The greenback climbed against the Swiss franc with USD/CHF climbing 0.57% 0.9271.
In Switzerland, data on Friday showed that consumer prices fell 0.2% in April, disappointing expectations for a 0.1% uptick, after a 0.3% rise the previous month.
The Australian dollar erased earlier gains, with AUD/NZD down 0.13% to 0.7897. The Reserve Bank of Australia's earlier said in its monthly policy statement that it is open to further interest rate cuts amid concerns over slowing Chinese growth and weak business investment in Australia.
Meanwhile, NZD/USD slipped 0.17% to 0.7435 and USD/CAD held steady at 1.2126.
On Friday, Statistics Canada said that the number of employed people declined by 19,700 in April, compared to expectations for a 5,000 fall, after an increase of 28,700 the previous month. The data also showed that Canada's unemployment rate held steady at 6.8% last month, confounding expectations for an uptick to 6.9%.
