Investing.com - The dollar was lower against the yen on Monday, while the euro was boosted after data indicated that the slump in the euro zone’s manufacturing sector is easing.
During European morning trade, the dollar fell to three-week lows against the yen, with USD/JPY sliding 0.17% to 100.23 as falls in Japanese equities bolstered demand for the safe haven yen.
Elsewhere, the euro was higher against the dollar, with EUR/USD climbing 0.23% to 1.3025.
In the euro zone, data showed that May’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index improved to 48.3 from 47.8 in April.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI was revised up to 49.4 in May from a final reading of 48.1 in April and above the preliminary reading of 49.0.
The dollar was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.47% to 1.5266.
The U.K. manufacturing PMI rose to 51.3 in May; the fastest rate of growth in 14 months, while April’s reading was revised up to 50.2 from a preliminary estimate of 49.8.
The dollar inched higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF edging up 0.08% to 0.9567.
In Switzerland, the SVME purchasing managers' association and Credit Suisse said that its PMI rose to 52.2 last month from 50.2 in April, beating expectations for a reading of 50.9.
The greenback was broadly lower against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD advancing 0.61% to trade at 0.9633, NZD/USD up 0.48% to 0.7983 and USD/CAD dipping 0.02% to 1.0365.
The commodity linked currencies remained supported after official data on Sunday showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index to rose to 50.8 in May from 50.6 in April.
This offset data on Monday showing that China’s final HSBC PMI fell to 49.2 in May from a flash reading of 49.6 and down from 50.4 in April.
A separate report showed that retail sales in Australia rose 0.2% in April, less than the expected 0.3% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.23% to 83.12.
The Institute of Supply Management was to release data on manufacturing activity in the U.S. later Monday.
