The dollar stayed near its 2018 peak early on Monday after U.S. jobs and wages data did little to water down perceptions of strength in the U.S. economy, though renewed concerns about trade frictions could cloud its outlook.

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The dollar index .DXY =USD stood at 92.609, near Friday’s high of 92.908, which was its firmest level since late December.

The dollar gained broadly, maintaining its strength after Friday’s mixed U.S. data.

The U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected and the average hourly earnings, closely watched for signs of inflationary pressures, rose less-than-expected 0.1 percent in April, leaving the annual increase at 2.6 percent.

The unemployment rate dropped to near a 17-1/2-year low of 3.9 percent, although this was driven in part by Americans leaving the labor force.

None of this changed the perception that the Federal Reserve will likely hike interest rates at least twice, and possibly three times, by the end of year.

In contrast, recent data suggested Europe’s stellar growth last year is losing momentum, leading speculators to trim bets on the currency on expectations the European Central Bank will wind down its stimulus.

The euro changed hands at $1.1962 EUR=, not far from Friday's four-month low of $1.1910.

Data from U.S. financial watchdog published late on Friday showed speculators’ net long position in the euro in Chicago’s futures exchange declined only slightly in the latest week.

They held 120,568 contracts of net short positions 1099741NNET, down from a record 151,476 set last month but still at a high level.

A wider measure of dollar positioning NETUSDALL= that includes contracts on some emerging market currencies showed net dollar shorts shrank to $18.32 billion, from a seven-year high of $28.18 billion two weeks earlier.

“Speculators’ positioning has gone to extreme levels as they had been selling the dollar continuously,” Yukio Ishizuki, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.

Concerns about Trump’s protectionism was one big reason many investors had shied away from the dollar earlier.

Some market participants expect worries over a trade war could return after the trade talk between the United States and China produced little apparent progress.

In a sign that the trade tension is spilling over to other issues, Beijing and Washington came to loggerheads over how to refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

Elsewhere, the British pound GBP=D4 traded at $1.3538, near its four-month low of $1.3487 touched on Tuesday.

The dollar stood little changed at 109.10 yen JPY=, off its three-month high of 110.05 yen.

The yen's rebound was in part driven by short-covering by Japanese margin traders, especially against the Turkish lira TRY=, which fell to record lows during Japan's Golden Week holidays.

The lira fell more than 4 percent last week versus the dollar.