TORONTO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened against the U.S. dollar on Friday after U.S. payrolls data for July came in weaker than expected, pulling the greenback sharply lower.

The Canadian dollar was trading at C$1.0350 versus the U.S. dollar, or 96.62 U.S. cents shortly after the U.S. Department of Labor said employers added 162,000 jobs in July, below market expectations for a rise of 184,000 jobs.

The Canadian currency had weakened as far as C$1.0402 to the U.S. dollar over night after Thursday's North American session close at C$1.0348.

(Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Editing by James Dalgleish) Keywords: MARKETS CANADA/DOLLAR

(Andrea.Hopkins@thomsonreuters.com)(416 941 8159)(Reuters Messaging: andrea.hopkins.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)

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