• US ISM Manufacturing PMI declined slightly in February.
• The US Dollar Index clings to strong daily gains near 98.50.

The business activity in the US manufacturing sector expanded in February, albeit at a slower pace than in January, with the Institue for Supply Management's (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) edging lower to 52.4 from 52.6 in January. This print came in better than the market expectation of 51.8.

Other details of the report showed that the Employment Index improved to 48.8 in February but remained in the contraction territory. Additionally, the Prices Paid Index, the inflation component of the survey, jumped to 70.5 from 59 in January.

Assessing the survey's findings, "in February, US manufacturing activity remained in expansion territory, although growing at a slower pace than the month before," said Susan Spence, MBA, Chair of the Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.

"Of the five subindexes that make up the PMI, two (New Orders and Production) indicated slower growth compared to the previous month, and the Employment and Inventories indexes remained in contraction," Spence added.

Market reaction

The US Dollar (USD) preserves its strength following the PMI data. At the time of press, the USD Index was up 0..85% on the day at 98.46.