Investing.com - Service sector activity in the U.S. in May at the slowest pace in more than two years, industry data showed on Friday.
In a report, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index (PMI) fell to 52.9 last month from 55.7 in April. Analysts had expected the index to drop to 55.5.
This was the weakest reading since February 2014.
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.
The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index decreased to 55.1, 1.0 points lower than the April reading of 58.8.
The New Orders Index registered 54.2, 5.7 points lower than the reading of 59.9 in April.
The Employment Index decreased 3.3 points to 49.7 from the April reading of 53.0.
The Prices Index increased 2.2 points from the April reading of 53.4 to 55.6, indicating prices increased in May for the second time in the last six months.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1339 from around 1.1320 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4545 from 1.4543 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 106.88 from 107.08 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.07, compared to 94.19 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were lower after the open. The Dow 30 shed 0.67%, the S&P 500 declined 0.75%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.00%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,244.75 a troy ounce, compared to $1,241.85 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $48.87 a barrel from $48.89 earlier.