Investing.com - The dollar remained steady against a basket of major currencies on Monday after data showed that manufacturing activity in the New York region slumped to its lowest level since November 2009 this month.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index dropped to -14.9 this month from 3.86 in July as new orders and shipments fell sharply.
Economists had forecast an uptick to 5.0.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was firm at 96.62, from around 96.71 ahead of the report.
The greenback remained supported as investors looked ahead to Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, which it was hoped would provide more clarity on its plans to hike short-term interest rates for the first time since 2006.
Overall market sentiment was boosted as concerns over a prolonged depreciation of the yuan eased.
The euro was little changed for the day, with EUR/USD at 1.1109.
USD/JPY was last at 124.31, not far from the day’s high of 124.58.
Earlier Monday the yen shrugged off weak Japanese data on second quarter growth which sparked expectations for additional easing by the Bank of Japan.
The dollar was also steady against the pound and the Swiss franc.
The greenback gained ground against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD rising 0.25% to 1.3121. The Australian dollar eased lower, with AUD/USD at 0.7369.
The Aussie fell to six-year lows of 0.7214 last week after the yuan depreciation before recovering after China's central bank said there was no basis for further depreciation in the currency, given China's strong economic fundamentals.
The New Zealand dollar pushed higher, with NZD/USD rising 0.52% to 0.6569.