The dollar was steady on Friday, heading for its strongest weekly performance since July on scaled back expectations of steep and early interest rate cuts this year ahead of closely watched U.S. payrolls data later in the day. U.S. private employers hired more workers than expected in December, data showed on Thursday, pointing to persistent strength in the labour market that should continue to sustain the economy. That helped the dollar shrug off weakness and against a basket of currencies, the U.S. currency was last at 102.39 in early trade on Friday. The dollar index is up 1 per cent for the week, its strongest ... (full story)