Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the U.S. expanded at a slower rate than expected in July, dampening optimism over the strength of the economy and fanning hopes that Fed officials could delay raising interest rates till the very end of 2015, industry data showed on Monday.
In a report, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of purchasing managers fell to 52.7 last month from a reading of 53.5 in June. Analysts had expected the manufacturing PMI to hold steady at 53.5 in July.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0970 from around 1.0964 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5601 from 1.5594 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 124.13 from 124.10 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 97.49, compared to 97.51 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets were mildly higher after the open. The Dow 30 tacked on 0.1%, the S&P 500 inched up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,091.20 a troy ounce, compared to $1,090.00 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $45.92 a barrel from $46.11 earlier.