Investing.com - The dollar was steady against a basket of other major currencies on Monday, staying above two-month lows after data late last week indicated that the U.S. recovery may be stabilizing following a recent soft patch.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last at 95.32, holding above a two-month low of 94.47 set last Thursday.
The dollar found support after data on Friday showed that activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector was stable in April, after slowing in the five previous months.
Another report showed that U.S. consumer sentiment rose in April to its highest level since January.
The reports fuelled optimism that the U.S. economy has turned a corner after a recent bout of weakness.
The dollar has weakened in recent weeks after disappointing economic reports prompted investors to delay expectations on the timing of an initial rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
EUR/USD was at 1.1201, off Friday’s two-month peaks of 1.1289, while USD/JPY eased to 120.02, well above last Thursday’s one-month low of 118.48.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar slipped lower as investors looked ahead to Tuesday’s rate review by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
AUD/USD was last at 0.7836, after touching overnight lows of 0.7803.
Sentiment on the Aussie was also hit after private sector data showed that Chinese manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest rate in a year in April as new orders fell. The data added to concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.
The HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 48.9 in April, the lowest level since April 2014, from 49.6 in March and below forecasts of 49.4.