FOREX-Dollar drops against peers after delayed U.S. data shows jobs growth

( )

By Chibuike Oguh and Stefano Rebaudo

NEW YORK, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar extended losses against major peers on Tuesday following the release of delayed economic data showing stronger-than-expected jobs growth that signals the Federal Reserve might be cautious in continuing to cut interest rates in the near term. The U.S. economy added 64,000 jobs in November, surpassing an estimate from economists polled by Reuters. That came after the economy shed 105,000 jobs in October, according to Labor Department data.

The employment report was delayed because of the 43-day U.S. federal government shutdown.

The U.S. dollar eased against its peers following the data. It was last down 0.08% to 0.795 against the Swiss franc while the euro was up 0.09% to $1.1763 against the greenback.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.11% to 98.15.

(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York and Stefano Rebaudo and Gregor Stuart Hunter; Editing by Mark Potter, Susan Fenton and Chizu Nomiyama )