Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose on Monday, as manufacturing activity in New York posted its biggest increase in more than two years.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, gained 0.1% to 96.542 by 10:44 AM ET (14:44 GMT).
The New York Federal Reserve said that its Empire State manufacturing index for July came in at 4.3 points, compared to -8.6 in June.
A reading above zero suggests an expansion in regional business activity.
The data suggest that the region has bounced back, but still remains vulnerable, said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING.
The dollar was higher against the Japanese yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.1% to 107.92. The euro was down slightly ahead of a European Central Bank meeting next week, where traders expect the bank to keep rates steady. A rate cut of 10 basis points in September and another cut in March is expected.
Meanwhile the Federal Reserve is still expected to cut rates by 25 basis points at its next meeting at the end of July.
EUR/USD fell 0.1% to 1.1261 and the Australian dollar surged to a 10-day high after data from China suggested the economy could be recovering from its trade spat with the U.S. Industrial output rebounded, while retail sales rose 9.8%, even as the Chinese economy grew at its slowest rate in 27 years, which was expected.
AUD/USD rose 0.2% to 0.7029. USD/CAD inched up 0.1% to 1.3038, while GBP/USD fell 0.3% to 1.2529.