Investing.com - Service sector activity in the U.S. grew at a faster rate than expected in January, easing concerns over the economic outlook, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index increased to 56.7 last month from a reading of 56.2 in December. Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 56.3 in January.
The New Orders Index registered 59.5, 0.3 points higher than the reading of 59.2 registered in December.
The Employment Index decreased 4.1 points to 51.6 from the December reading of 55.7.
The Prices Index decreased 4.3 points from the December reading of 49.8 to 45.5.
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.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1417 from around 1.1406 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5226 from 1.5216 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 117.48 compared to 117.45 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.15, compared to 94.18 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were mixed after the open. The Dow 30 tacked on 0.2%, the S&P 500 shed 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 slumped 0.2%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,268.70 a troy ounce, compared to $1,268.00 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $50.92 a barrel from $50.78 earlier.