Investing.com - The dollar remained lower against the other major currencies on Monday, after data showed that manufacturing activity in the U.S. expanded at the slowest rate in more than two years in October.
The dollar was steady against the yen, with USD/JPY at 120.63.
In a report, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of purchasing managers fell to 50.1 last month from a reading of 50.2 in September. Analysts had expected the manufacturing PMI to dip to 50.0 in October.
Investors were turning their attention to Friday U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for indications on the likelihood of a December rate hike.
The Federal Reserve left rates on hold last week but indicated that it could still raise interest rates for the first time since 2006 at its December meeting.
EUR/USD rose 0.30% to trade at 1.1036.
Data on Monday showed that growth in the euro zone's manufacturing sector ticked higher in October. The final reading of the euro zone manufacturing PMI rose to 52.3 from 52.0 in September.
The French factory sector posted modest growth with the manufacturing PMI coming in at 50.6 but growth in Germany’s factory sector slid to a three-month low, with the factory PMI dipping to 52.1 from 52.3 in September.
Elsewhere, the dollar was still lower against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD up 0.15% at 1.5449 and with USD/CHF shedding 0.28% to 0.9850.
Sterling was boosted after Markit said that its U.K. manufacturing PMI jumped to a 16-month high of 55.5 last month from 51.8 in September. Economists had expected the index to tick down to 51.3.
The Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7139, while NZD/USD slid 0.35% to 0.6756.
Markets were still jittery after data on Sunday showed that China's official manufacturing PMI remained in contraction territory at 49.8 this month, unchanged from September and disappointing expectations for a rise to 50.0
Earlier Monday, data showed that China's Caixin manufacturing PMI rose to 48.3 in October from 47.2 the previous month, beating expectations for an uptick 47.5.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD eased up 0.09% to trade at 1.3090.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.18% at 96.82.