By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Japanese yen rose against the dollar on Monday, with the greenback extending losses against its major rivals after data showed an unexpected decline in a U.S. manufacturing gauge.
The Institute for Supply Management index fell to 51.3% in March from 54.2% in February, showing that the pace of expansion in U.S. manufacturing slowed sharply last month. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected the index to remain at 54.2%.
The dollar extended losses following the ISM data.
The ICE dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback's performance against six other major currencies, slipped to 82.740 on Monday morning from 82.998 on Friday.
The WSJ dollar index , which tracks the dollar's moves against a slightly wider basket than the ICE index, declined to 73.31 on Monday from 73.56 on Friday.
The dollar (USDJPY) fell to 93.47 yen Monday, compared to Yen94.22 in North American trade on Friday.
"Short-covering is making the yen the best performing currency today," said analysts at Brown Brothers Harriman in a note to clients.
The yen's gains were accompanied by a slump in Japanese stocks, with the Nikkei Stock Average tumbling 2.1% after the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey on business sentiment disappointed investors.
European stock markets are closed Monday for an extended Easter break.
The euro (EURUSD) traded at $1.2851 compared to $1.2821 on Friday. The euro dropped about 2% versus the dollar over the course of March as it revisited November lows, and fell 2.8% in the first quarter.
The British pound (GBPUSD) rose to $1.5238 on Monday from $1.5193 Friday.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 01, 2013 10:53 ET (14:53 GMT)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Japanese yen rose against the dollar on Monday, with the greenback extending losses against its major rivals after data showed an unexpected decline in a U.S. manufacturing gauge.
The Institute for Supply Management index fell to 51.3% in March from 54.2% in February, showing that the pace of expansion in U.S. manufacturing slowed sharply last month. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected the index to remain at 54.2%.
The dollar extended losses following the ISM data.
The ICE dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback's performance against six other major currencies, slipped to 82.740 on Monday morning from 82.998 on Friday.
The WSJ dollar index , which tracks the dollar's moves against a slightly wider basket than the ICE index, declined to 73.31 on Monday from 73.56 on Friday.
The dollar (USDJPY) fell to 93.47 yen Monday, compared to Yen94.22 in North American trade on Friday.
"Short-covering is making the yen the best performing currency today," said analysts at Brown Brothers Harriman in a note to clients.
The yen's gains were accompanied by a slump in Japanese stocks, with the Nikkei Stock Average tumbling 2.1% after the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey on business sentiment disappointed investors.
European stock markets are closed Monday for an extended Easter break.
The euro (EURUSD) traded at $1.2851 compared to $1.2821 on Friday. The euro dropped about 2% versus the dollar over the course of March as it revisited November lows, and fell 2.8% in the first quarter.
The British pound (GBPUSD) rose to $1.5238 on Monday from $1.5193 Friday.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 01, 2013 10:53 ET (14:53 GMT)
