NEW YORK: The dollar dropped on Monday, surrendering earlier gains following the announcement of unexpected oil output cuts from OPEC+, after data showed the US economy continued to slow with the decline in manufacturing and construction spending.
Data on Monday added to the narrative that the Federal Reserve is near the end of its rate-hike cycle. An announcement on Sunday of output target cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, propelled oil prices higher. Brent crude last traded at $84.9 per barrel, up 5.7%.
OPEC+ was expected to stick to cuts of two million barrels per day (bpd) which were already in place until the end of 2023, but instead announced further output cuts of around 1.16 million bpd.
Monday’s economic reports showed US manufacturing activity in March slumped to its lowest level in nearly three years as new orders continued to contract. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its manufacturing PMI fell to 46.3 last month, the lowest since May 2020, from 47.7 in February. The euro was last up 0.4% at $1.0886, after touching a one-week low of $1.0788 earlier in the session. The dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of six currencies including the euro, was down 0.8% at 102.14.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar fell 0.3% to 132.36 yen, after earlier hitting its highest level since around mid-March. Sterling was at $1.2395, up 0.6%, while the dollar was dipped 0.2% against the Swiss franc to 0.9132 francs.
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