Investing.com - Service sector activity in the U.S. grew at a faster rate than expected in August to hold near a ten-year peak, boosting optimism over the health of the economy and supporting the case for a rate hike later this month, industry data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index fell 59.0 last month from 60.3 in July, above forecasts for a reading of 58.1.
The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index decreased to 63.9, which is 1.0 point lower than the July reading of 64.9.
The New Orders Index registered 63.4, 0.4 points lower than the reading of 63.8 in July.
The Employment Index decreased 3.6 points to 56.0 from the July reading of 59.6, while the Prices Index decreased 2.9 points from the July reading of 53.7 to 50.8.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates the non-manufacturing sector economy is generally expanding, below 50.0 indicates the sector is contracting.
According to the NMI, 15 non-manufacturing industries reported growth in August. Overall, respondents continue to be optimistic about business conditions and the economy. This is reflected by indexes that are again strong; however, lower than what was seen in July.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1124 from around 1.1131 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5255 from 1.5270 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.89 from 120.20 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.39, compared to 96.34 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 0.5%, the S&P 500 advanced 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite tacked on 0.3%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,126.20 a troy ounce, compared to $1,126.60 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $47.24 a barrel from $47.16 earlier.