Investing.com - Service sector activity in the U.S. grew at the fastest pace since August 2005 in July, boosting optimism over the health of the economy and supporting the case for a rate hike in September, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index rose 60.3 last month from 56.0 in June, above forecasts for a reading of 56.2.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0871 from around 1.0902 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5612 from 1.5631 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 124.87 compared to 124.60 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 98.19, compared to 97.92 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 0.3%, the S&P 500 advanced 0.65%, while the Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.1%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,084.80 a troy ounce, compared to $1,086.90 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $46.16 a barrel from $46.25 earlier.