* Global shares hit three-month lows
* Jobs data unexpectedly weak, dollar hits 8-month highs
* Euro zone debt fears drive euro lower
(Updates with U.S. jobs data, reaction)
By Natsuko Waki
LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Global shares hit three-month lows
on Friday while government bonds and the dollar rose as risky
assets remained under pressure from an unexpected weakness in
the U.S. labour market and euro zone sovereign debt problems.
Commodities and oil, which fell sharply on Thursday, stayed
under pressure while gold fell to a three-month low.
The U.S. economy lost 20,000 non-farm payroll jobs in
January, against a consensus for a gain of 5000. The jobless
rate did fall however to a five-month low of 9.7 percent while
November job rises are revised higher.
"It's obvious we're in a recovery that's uneven and not
producing any jobs. That's a negative for the economy going
forward. It's hard to say with any real degree of conviction
that we're out of the recession," said Bruce Bittles, chief
investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co in Nashville.
The MSCI global index <.MIWDOOOOOPUS> fell 1.2 percent,
hitting its lowest since early November earlier. European shares
<> fell to two-month lows, following sharp falls in Asia.
EURO WOES
The euro fell as low as $1.3649 <EUR=>. The single currency
has been under pressure all week as widening government bond
spreads highlighted concerns over the ability of some euro zone
governments to pay their debts. Investors handed out a hammering
to bonds of heavily-indebted euro zone countries, including
Greece, Portugal and Spain.
The cost of insuring Greek, Portuguese and Spanish debt
against default, measured by credit default swaps, both hit
record highs on Friday.
"Widening euro zone CDS and bond spreads over German Bunds
are making investors less confident, which is weighing on the
euro and putting pressure on equity markets," said Jeremy
Stretch, strategist at Rabobank.
Portugal's parliament will on Friday vote on an opposition
bill that the government wants to block to avoid increasing the
budget deficit, as it fights growing fiscal woes.
The concern over sovereign credit has also begun to knock
confidence in markets beyond the euro zone.
Emerging markets equities have fallen sharply in the past
two weeks, with a key index <.MSCIEF> at a three-month low.
The low-yielding dollar was up 0.1 percent against a basket
of major currencies <.DXY> and the Japanese yen also benefited.
Benchmark German government debt rose in price as bond
investors fled the lower-rated, so-called peripheral issuers.
The Bund future <FGBLc1> hit its highest since April and the
yield on the two-year note <DE2YT=RR> hit its lowest since the
euro was launched in 1999.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a steady to lower open in New
York <SPc1>.
Crude oil <CLc1> stood at $73 a barrel, having hit an
intraday low of $72.42 on Thursday.
Spot gold <XAU=>, extended Thursday's falls, touching a
three-month low of $1,049.50 an ounce, compared with $1,062 in
New York.
(Editing by Ron Askew)
