Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the U.S. expanded at the slowest rate in 11 months in January, fuelling concerns over the health of the economy, industry data showed on Monday.
In a report, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of purchasing managers fell to 53.5 last month from a reading of 55.5 in December. Analysts had expected the manufacturing PMI to decline to 54.5 in January.
The New Orders Index registered 52.9, a decrease of 4.9 points from the seasonally adjusted reading of 57.8 in December.
The Production Index registered 56.5, 1.2 points below the seasonally adjusted December reading of 57.7.
The Employment Index registered 54.1, a decrease of 1.9 points below the seasonally adjusted December reading of 56.0.
The Prices Index registered 35.0, down 3.5 points from the December reading of 38.5, indicating lower raw materials prices in January relative to December.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
Comments from the panel indicate that most industries, but not all, are experiencing strong demand as 2015 kicks off. The West Coast dock slowdown continues to be a problem, negatively impacting both exports and imports as well as inventories.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1350 from around 1.1342 ahead of the release of the data, while GBP/USD was at 1.5075 from 1.5063 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 117.37 from 117.54 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.69, compared to 94.79 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets added to losses. The Dow 30 fell 0.2%, the S&P 500 declined 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 shed 0.85%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,272.20 a troy ounce, compared to $1,271.90 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $48.55 a barrel from $48.72 earlier.