U.S. dollar advances on better-than-expected manufacturing index

NEW YORK, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar posted solid gains in late trading on Monday as the U.S. Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported a better-than-expected manufacturing index for April.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.49 percent at 102.1527 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro was down to 1.0969 dollars from 1.1017 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.2487 dollars from 1.2563 U.S. dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 137.4590 Japanese yen, higher than 136.24 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar increased to 0.8962 Swiss francs from 0.8938 Swiss francs, and it increased to 1.3540 Canadian dollars from 1.3537 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar was up to 10.3359 Swedish Krona from 10.2638 Swedish Krona.

U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) improved to 47.1 in April from 46.3 in March, beating market forecast consensus of 46.8, according to a release by ISM on Monday.

The U.S. dollar index gained ground as traders reacted to the better-than-expected ISM manufacturing PMI report, noted Vladimir Zernov, analyst with market information supplier FX Empire.

The yield of 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds jumped 14.99 basis points on Monday, lending support to the U.S. dollar.

Moreover, the Federal Reserve is expected to hike the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday as traders watch for clues on next move.