Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the U.S. contracted at the fastest pace since July 2009 in November, dampening optimism over the strength of the economy and fanning hopes the Federal Reserve could delay raising interest rates until next year, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of purchasing managers fell to 48.6 last month from a reading of 50.1 in October. Analysts had expected the manufacturing PMI to inch up to 50.5 in November.
The New Orders Index registered 48.9, a decrease of 4.0 points from 52.9 in October. The Production Index registered 49.2, 3.7 points below the October reading of 52.9.
The Employment Index registered 51.3, 3.7 points above the October reading of 47.6, while the Prices Index registered 35.5, a decrease of 3.5 points from 39.0 in October.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
Ten out of 18 manufacturing industries reported contraction in November, with lower new orders, production and raw materials inventories accounting for the overall softness in November.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0623 from around 1.0612 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5074 from 1.5072 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 123.05 from 123.11 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 99.88, compared to 99.96 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets were up after the open. The Dow 30 tacked on 0.85%, the S&P 500 rose 0.75%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.7%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,065.90 a troy ounce, compared to $1,064.80 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $41.95 a barrel from $41.88 earlier.