Investing.com - U.S. factory orders fell for the fifth consecutive month in December, dampening optimism over the strength of the economy, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.S. Census Bureau said factory orders declined by a seasonally adjusted 3.4% in December, worse than expectations for a decline of 2.2%.
Factory orders fell by 1.7% in November, whose figure was revised from a previously reported decline of 0.7%.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1444 from around 1.1440 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5102 from 1.5094 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 117.59 compared to 117.64 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.13, compared to 94.15 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets rallied after the open. The Dow 30 rose 1.1%, the S&P 500 advanced 0.95%, while the Nasdaq 100 picked up 0.7%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,265.30 a troy ounce, compared to $1,264.50 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $50.99 a barrel from $51.06 earlier.