Dollar holds steady vs. rivals after upbeat U.S. data

The dollar held steady against the other major currencies on Monday, as the release of upbeat U.S. service sector data did little to strengthen the greenback, while escalating conflict in Ukraine continued to dampen market sentiment.

In a report, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to a five-month high of 55.2 in April, from a reading of 53.1 in March, compared to expectations for a rise to 54.1.USD/JPY hit was last down 0.07% to 102.12.

The dollar weakened earlier, after the final reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 48.1, down from a preliminary estimate of 48.3 and missing forecasts for an uptick to 48.4. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction.

The greenback was already under pressure after giving up gains late Friday sparked by a far stronger-than-forecast U.S. jobs report.

The dollar had initially strengthened after official data showed that the U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in April, well above expectations for jobs growth of 210,000, while the unemployment rate dropped to a five-and-a-half year low of 6.3%.

However, the report also showed that the labor force participation rate, which measures the proportion of people either working or looking for work, fell and wage growth weakened.

Investors were also eying events in Ukraine, after conflict between the government and pro-Russian separatists grew more widespread over the weekend.

The euro was steady against the dollar, with EUR/USD up 0.06% at 1.3877, while GBP/USD eased 0.08% at 1.6861.

Trade was expected to remain subdued on Monday, with markets in the U.K. closed for a public holiday.

Elsewhere, USD/CHF was trading at 0.8778, down 0.02%.

The Australian dollar slipped lower after the weak Chinese data and a lackluster domestic economic report, with AUD/USD down 0.03% to 0.9274. Earlier Monday, official data showed that Australian building permits dropped unexpectedly in March.

NZD/USD rose 0.12% at 0.8675, while USD/CAD inched down 0.06% to 1.0966.

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.01% at 79.55.