Investing.com - The dollar was little changed against the euro and the yen on Monday as series of lackluster manufacturing reports and ongoing concerns over the crisis in Ukraine dampened market sentiment.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.3786, after falling to session lows of 1.3760 earlier.
The euro touched session lows after on Monday showed that German private sector activity slowed in March. The data overshadowed another report showing a return to growth in the bloc’s second largest economy, France.
Across the currency bloc, the expansion in the manufacturing and service industries remained solid. The preliminary reading of the euro area’s composite purchasing manager’s index ticked down to 53.2, only slightly lower than February’s 32-month highs of 53.3.
Earlier Monday, a report showed that Chinese manufacturing activity deteriorated again in March.
The preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing PMI fell to an eight-month low of 48.1 in March from a final reading of 48.5 in February. Analysts had expected the index to tick up to 48.7.
USD/JPY was last trading at 102.19, holding below last Wednesday’s highs of 102.67
In the U.S., a report showed that the flash manufacturing index slowed to 55.5 in March, down from 57.1 last month, missing expectations for a reading of 56.5.
The greenback continued to remain supported after markets brought forward expectations for rise in U.S. borrowing costs after Fed Chair Janet Yellen suggested last week that rates might start to rise about six months after the bank’s stimulus program ends, which is expected to happen in the fall.
The dollar was steady close to five-week lows against the pound, with GBP/USD trading at 1.6491. The greenback edged higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF climbing 0.12% to 0.8840.
The Australian dollar shrugged off the weak Chinese manufacturing data, with AUD/USD rising 0.46% to 0.9123. NZD/USD edged up to 0.8544, while USD/CAD dipped 0.06% to 1.1215.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, inched up 0.02% to 80.30.