By CountingPips.com
The US dollar has been trading lower versus the other major currencies today in forex trading while US stocks have tumbled after a number of US economic news releases. The dollar has been on the downside today against the euro, British pound sterling, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar and the Swiss franc while gaining ground 
versus the Canadian dollar.
The European common currency reached its highest trading level in two months against the dollar today as the euro/dollar pair ascended above the 1.2900 level the first time since May 10th when the pair was on its way down to a four-year low in early June. The EUR/USD has been a remarkable bull run since the June 7th lowpoint and has gained by approximately 1000 pips from that point.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets have been weaker today with the Dow Jones industrial average falling by over 50 points at time of writing. The NASDAQ is also lower by almost 15 points and the S&P 500 has decreased by almost 8 points. Gold has risen today by approximately $2.80 to level at $1209.60 while oil has edged lower by $0.82 to trade at the $76.22 threshold.
Manufacturing activity falls, Jobless Claims decrease
Economic news releases out today showed that manufacturing activity fell by more than expected in the Empire State manufacturing survey and the Philly Fed survey. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed that the general business index in New York dropped to a 5.08 score in July from a 19.57 score in June and much lower than the 18.00 forecasted score. The lower score still showed manufacturing growth for the month but at a slower pace.
The business outlook from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve released today also showed that manufacturing activity slowed in July. The Philly Fed index of current activity fell from a score of 8 in June to a score of 5.1 in July to mark a second consecutive monthly decline. This was worse than the economic expectations of a increase to a 10.0 score.
Weekly jobless claims fell in the week that ended on July 10th, according to data from the Department of Labor. Initial jobless claims declined by 29,000 workers to a total of 429,000 while the four-week moving average dipped by 11,750 workers from the previous week. Workers seeking continuing unemployment insurance increased for the week ending on July 3rd by 247,000 workers from the previous week while the four-week moving average of continuing claims bumped up by 22,000 workers.
Also released in a separate report today by the Department of labor was the producer price inflation report that showed producer prices fell for the third straight month in June. The producer price index declined by 0.5 percent in June following a decline of 0.3 percent in May and a 0.1 percent decrease in April. The largest contributor to the decline was a 2.2 percent shortfall in prices for consumer foods while prices for finished energy goods decreased by 0.5 percent for the month. Economic forecasts were expecting a 0.1 percent decrease.
Core producer prices, excluding food and energy, edged up by 0.1 percent in June following a 0.2 percent increase in May. The core increase matched economic forecasts.
