Investing.com - U.S. factory orders fell in October, but by a lower margin than feared causing some relief over the state of the manufacturing sector, responsible for roughly 12% of the American economy, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.S. Census Bureau said factory orders declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in October, compared to expectations for a drop of 0.4%.
Factory orders rose 1.7% in September in an upward revision from what had been a 1.4% gain.
Factory orders excluding transportation advanced 0.8% in October, compared to the prior month’s 1.1% gain which was revised up from an initial 0.7% increase.
Following the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1840 from 1.1839 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3520 from 1.3508 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 112.94 compared to 112.93 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 93.19 compared to 93.21 previously.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets traded higher after the open. The Dow 30 gained 288 points, or 1.19%, the S&P 500 rose 19 points, or 0.73%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 11 points, or 0.17%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,277.50 a troy ounce, compared to $1,278.10 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $57.74 a barrel from $57.69 earlier.