Published On: Tue, 02 Oct 2012
The dollar fell against most major currencies on Tuesday after solid U.S. manufacturing data published earlier, sparking a risk-on trading session. In the U.S. earlier, the Institute of Supply Management’s U.S. purchasing managers’ index beat expectations in September, rising to 51.5 from 49.6 in August. Analysts had expected the ISM manufacturing PMI to rise to 49.7 last month. The news boosted spirits in global markets, enticing investors out of the safety of the U.S. dollar and into higher-yielding currencies and stocks. Meanwhile, the euro and other currencies saw demand after Spain’s finance minister reportedly said the country was studying financial aid game plans with the European Central Bank. Spain announced recent bank stress tests revealed financial institutions need just shy of EUR60 billion to return to health, and European Union Commissioner Olli Rehn said earlier that he doesn’t expect bank recapitalization efforts to affect the country’s structural deficit. Rehn added the country’s 2012 deficit target is within reach. Further fueling the risk-on session, the euro zone unemployment rate remained unchanged at 11.4% in August, in line with expectations.