Investing.com - The U.S. dollar firmed up against the other major currencies on Tuesday, despite disappointing U.S. manufacturing data, as investors awaited more details of the European Central Bank’s bond purchasing program.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar pushed higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.19% to 1.2567.
The dollar held gains after the Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index ticked down to 49.6 in August from 49.8 in July, compared to expectations for a reading of 50.0.
The report said that new orders fell and inventories rose, indicating that sales are dropping, while the number of new workers hired fell to the lowest level since late 2009.
The data came amid ongoing speculation over how close the Federal Reserve is to implementing another round of easing, after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that the bank would act as needed to strengthen the U.S. economic recovery.
Demand for the euro continued to be underpinned by expectations that the ECB will announce details of measures to help stabilize the region’s sovereign debt markets after its upcoming policy setting meeting on Thursday.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the pound, with GBP/USD dipping 0.01% to 1.5884.
In the U.K., data which was not scheduled for release until Wednesday morning showed that the service sector experienced robust growth last month.
Markit's services PMI rose to 53.7, the highest level since March, from a reading of 51.0 in July.
Elsewhere, the greenback added to gains against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY rising 0.16% to 78.38, and USD/CHF adding 0.26% to trade at 0.9560.
The Swissie shrugged off official data showing that Switzerland’s gross domestic product contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter, disappointing expectation for a 0.2% increase, as exports to the euro zone fell.
The Swiss economy still expanded at an annualized rate of 0.5% in the three months to June, compared with the same period last year.
The greenback was broadly higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD inching up 0.03% to 0.9860, AUD/USD losing 0.13% to trade at 1.0234 and NZD/USD down 0.54% to 0.7932.
The Reserve Bank of Australia left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.50% following its policy meeting on Tuesday and said current monetary policy remained appropriate, despite the moderating pace of global growth.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.20% to 81.33.
Also Tuesday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the ECB would be right to help ailing euro zone countries by purchasing their debt, as long as they committed to implementing economic reforms in return.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar pushed higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.19% to 1.2567.
The dollar held gains after the Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index ticked down to 49.6 in August from 49.8 in July, compared to expectations for a reading of 50.0.
The report said that new orders fell and inventories rose, indicating that sales are dropping, while the number of new workers hired fell to the lowest level since late 2009.
The data came amid ongoing speculation over how close the Federal Reserve is to implementing another round of easing, after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that the bank would act as needed to strengthen the U.S. economic recovery.
Demand for the euro continued to be underpinned by expectations that the ECB will announce details of measures to help stabilize the region’s sovereign debt markets after its upcoming policy setting meeting on Thursday.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the pound, with GBP/USD dipping 0.01% to 1.5884.
In the U.K., data which was not scheduled for release until Wednesday morning showed that the service sector experienced robust growth last month.
Markit's services PMI rose to 53.7, the highest level since March, from a reading of 51.0 in July.
Elsewhere, the greenback added to gains against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY rising 0.16% to 78.38, and USD/CHF adding 0.26% to trade at 0.9560.
The Swissie shrugged off official data showing that Switzerland’s gross domestic product contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter, disappointing expectation for a 0.2% increase, as exports to the euro zone fell.
The Swiss economy still expanded at an annualized rate of 0.5% in the three months to June, compared with the same period last year.
The greenback was broadly higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD inching up 0.03% to 0.9860, AUD/USD losing 0.13% to trade at 1.0234 and NZD/USD down 0.54% to 0.7932.
The Reserve Bank of Australia left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.50% following its policy meeting on Tuesday and said current monetary policy remained appropriate, despite the moderating pace of global growth.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.20% to 81.33.
Also Tuesday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the ECB would be right to help ailing euro zone countries by purchasing their debt, as long as they committed to implementing economic reforms in return.