BG: Strong manufacturing report gives dollar a boost
A strong report on manufacturing is giving the dollar a slight boost ahead of a key U.S. jobs report for August.
The Commerce Department says that factory orders climbed 2.4 percent in July, the largest increase since March.
That helps ease some fears about the economy. Worries that the U.S. is dropping back into recession has led some investors to expect the Federal Reserve could announce a new round of support for the economy as soon as its September meeting.
Analysts say a weak U.S. jobs report on Friday could push the Fed to act.
In morning trading Wednesday in New York, the euro slipped to $1.4408 from $1.4447, while the British pound fell to $1.6283 from $1.6312. The dollar also fell to 76.56 Japanese yen from 76.72 yen.
