The dollar holds firm

Markets Insider

The dollar is holding firm Tuesday.

The US dollar index was little changed at 93.61 at 8:24 a.m. ET after climbing as high as 93.91 during Asian trade.

The index’s climb follows stronger-than-expected data, which some say supports the case for the Federal Reserve to hike rates, according to Bloomberg.

Monday showed that Markit US Manufacturing PMI came in at 53.1 in September, above expectations of 53.0, while ISM manufacturing came in at 60.8 last month, above expectations of 58.0.

Looking forward, “the greenback might have a bit room to run this week, but our outlook favors a rotation to the convergence trade rather than a reboot of the US divergence trade,” said Mark McCormick, North American Head of FX Strategy at TD Securities, in emailed commentary.

As for the rest of the world, here’s the scoreboard as of 8:32 a.m. ET:

• The euro was little changed at 1.1747 against the dollar. Data showed eurozone producer prices rose 2.5% year-over-year in August, above expectations of 2.3%.
• The British pound was down by 0.4% at 1.3227 against the dollar. Data showed that construction PMI came in at 48.1 in September, below expectations of 51.0.
• The Indian rupee was little changed at 65.532 per dollar.
• The Russian ruble was weaker by 0.3% at 58.0800 per dollar, while Brent crude oil was down by 0.7% at $55.75 per barrel.
• TheJapanese yenwas lower by 0.2% at 113.02 per dollar.