The US dollar weakened today as the signs that the global economic recovery gains momentum caused investors favor riskier assets over safer ones, reducing appeal of the US currency.

The Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI rose to 57.3 in January, the highest level in 9 months, the growth being led by Germany and Australia. The index was expected to remain at the previous level of 56.9. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.7 percent, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.8 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares gained 0.5 percent.

The US economy also showed some good results as the manufacturing expanded for the 18th consecutive month in January, causing the ISM PMI index to rise to 60.8 percent. Not everything is good in the US economy as was demonstrated by construction spending, that dropped by 2.5 percent in December. The Dollar Index dropped 0.4 percent to 77.428.

EUR/USD advanced from 1.3693 to 1.3826 as of 22:19 GMT today, while USD/JPY slumped from 82.03 to 81.38.

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