Monday’s Markit survey showed that the preliminary PMIs for the US manufacturing and services sectors almost matched analysts’ forecasts and had little initial impact on the USD/JPY currency pair. Just after the data were released, the US Dollar edged slightly higher against the Yen to 110.954. Markit revealed that the index for services activity in the United States came in at 54.2 in July, unchanged from the previous month, while the Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.2, above forecasts for a 52.3 reading. Sufficiently strong figures suggested that the country’s pace of economic growth gained momentum, pointing to some signs for further expansion.
