Investing.com - Service sector activity in the U.S. grew at a faster rate than expected in February, easing concerns over the economic outlook, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index increased to 56.9 last month from a reading of 56.7 in January. Analysts had expected the index to inch down to 56.5 in February.
The New Orders Index registered 56.7, 2.8 points lower than the reading of 59.5 registered in January.
The Employment Index increased 4.8 points to 56.4 from the January reading of 51.6 and indicates growth for the 12th consecutive month.
The Prices Index increased 4.2 points from the January reading of 45.5 to 49.7 percent, indicating prices contracted in February for the third consecutive month.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates the non-manufacturing sector economy is generally expanding, below 50.0 indicates the sector is contracting.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1087 from around 1.1092 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5296 from 1.5295 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.73 compared to 119.67 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.92, compared to 95.93 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were lower after the open. The Dow 30 lost 0.75%, the S&P 500 shed 0.7%, while the Nasdaq 100 slumped 0.2%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,200.20 a troy ounce, compared to $1,200.70 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $50.53 a barrel from $50.42 earlier.