The US dollar traded lower against the South African rand in New York morning trading on Friday. At about 8:35 am ET, the pair touched 7.1550, which may be compared to Thursday's closing value of 7.2372. This set a new multi-year low for the US currency. Presently, the greenback is trading near 7.1950.

According to a report released by the U.S. Labor Department today, non-farm payroll employment fell by 54,000 jobs in August, matching the revised decrease in jobs seen in July. While employment fell by less than expected, the unemployment rate still edged up to 9.6 percent in August from 9.5 percent in July. The modest increase came in line with economist estimates.

A report from the U.S. Institute for Supply Management showed that the ISM's non-manufacturing index fell to 51.5 in August from 54.3 in July, although a reading above 50 indicates continued growth in the service sector. Economists had expected the index to show a more modest decrease to a reading of 53.0.

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