10:52 AM EDT, 05/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The US dollar slipped further against many trade partner currencies in early North American trade on Wednesday after the ISM Manufacturing PMI and latest JOLTS number both surprised on the downside of expectations, though the greenback's declines were modest, perhaps owing to a sharp increase in the ISM Prices Index.

The ISM Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 in April, down from 50.3 previously and below the consensus for a reading of 50.0, echoing the earlier released S&P Global PMI survey suggesting activity in the industrial sector contracted last month.

April's decline was led by the new orders index, which fell 2.3% to 49.1 as exports and overall demand contracted, though weakness in production output, falling order backlogs, quickening supplier deliveries and a continuing contraction of employment all also weighed on the overall PMI for last month.

Most importantly, the prices index rose by a strong 5.1% to 55.8 as inflationary increases in commodity costs increased input and output prices. This could indicate that manufactured goods prices are likely to rise again in the near future, which could have hawkish implications for monetary policy and may be why the dollar's losses were limited in the wake of the release.

Separately, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said job openings fell to 8.48 million March, down from 8.81 million and below the consensus for a reading of 8.69 million. This was the weakest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, since the April 2021 report released in May that year.

EUR/USD was quoted 0.20% higher at 1.0687 following the release, while GBP/USD was 0.02% higher at 1.2491 after rising from an intraday low of 1.2465 throughout the European morning.

USD/JPY, meanwhile, was 0.11% lower at 157.57 after inching from 157.90 earlier in the session and USD/CAD was 0.10% lower at 1.3764 after slipping from 1.3771.