By CountingPips.com
The U.S. dollar has been on the defensive against the major currencies in the early part of the U.S. forex trading session on Tuesday while U.S. stocks have traded to higher levels. The dollar has been falling against the euro, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, Swiss franc, New Zealand dollar, Canadian dollar and the British pound on the first day following the
The euro has jumped versus the dollar to a new high since May 21st as the EUR/USD has advanced from today’s 1.2506 opening (00:00 GMT) to trading at approximately 1.2645 before noon of the U.S. trading session.
US stock markets, meanwhile, have gained early in their session today to start off the week as the Dow Jones industrial average has increased over 100 points while the NASDAQ has advanced over 30 points and the S&P 500 has increased by over 10 points so far. Oil has traded higher by $1.62 to level at $73.76 per barrel while gold has decreased by almost $16.00 today to level at $1,191.40 per ounce.
ISM Non-Manufacturing data edges lower
U.S. Non-Manufacturing economic data, released today by the Institute for Supply Management, showed that non-manufacturing economic activity grew in June for the 6th straight month although at a slower pace than May. June’s ISM Report On Business index readings for economic activity were at 53.8 percent following May’s 55.4 percent level.
The June score was worse than economic forecasts which were expecting the ISM index reading to register 55.0 percent but was still in expansion territory. A score above 50 is considered to be growth and less than 50 is considered to be contraction in that sector.
Anthony Nieves, chair of the Institute for Supply Management Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, talked about the survey’s numbers saying, “The New Orders Index decreased 2.7 percentage points to 54.4 percent, and the Employment Index decreased 0.7 percentage point to 49.7 percent, reflecting contraction after one month of growth. The Prices Index decreased 6.8 percentage points to 53.8 percent in June, indicating that prices are still increasing but at a slower rate than in May. According to the NMI, 15 non-manufacturing industries reported growth in June. Respondents’ comments are mostly positive about business conditions; however, there is concern about the effect of employment on the economic recovery.”
