Dollar Mixed Versus Other Majors Ahead of Key Manufacturing Data, Monday, June 02, 2008 7:11:09 AM

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies Monday morning in New York, racing higher versus the sterling while coming under a bit of pressure versus the yen.

The Institute for Supply Management issues its monthly report on manufacturing activity at 10 a.m. ET. Economists expect the ISM to tick lower to a reading of 48.5, down from April`s level of 48.6.

Market players received a prelude to the ISM report on Friday when Chicago PMI came in better-than-expected at 49.1 in May from a reading of 48.3 in April, beating expectations that it would rise only to 48.5. The gauge of mid-western manufacturing stayed below growth levels for the fourth consecutive month, but has crept closer to the 50-level for the last three months.

The dollar was little changed against the euro Monday morning in New York, moving in a narrow range near 1.5550. The dollar saw strong gains last week against the euro amid speculation the European Central Bank would soon cut interest rates to combat economic weakness.

According to NTC Economics, the German purchasing managers` index for manufacturing remained unchanged at 53.6 in May. Economists had expected a slight fall to 53.5, in line with the preliminary estimate in May.

On the flip side, overall euro zone PMI manufacturing figure fell to a record low 50.6 following the previous month`s 50.7 reading. Still, the May reading came in slightly better than consensus forecast of 50.5.

The greenback raced higher versus the sterling Monday morning, rising more than a cent to hit a 2-week high of 1.96.

The number of mortgage approvals for house purchases in the UK stood at 58,000 in April, the Bank of England reported Monday. Mortgage approvals fell from March`s 63,000 and 65,000 expected by economists. Net lending secured on dwelling rose GBP6.4 billion compared with GBP6.7 billion in the prior month.

The dollar lost a bit of ground Monday morning versus the yen as US stock futures tumbled, fueling risk aversion. The greenback slipped to 104.65 in very early dealing, but was stable approaching mid-morning.

According to official data released Friday, the Japanese unemployment rate grew slightly more than expected to 4% in April, up from the 3.8% rate in March.