Business activity in the US service sector continued to expand at a robust pace in February with the ISM Services PMI arriving at 55.1. Although this reading was slightly lower than January's print of 55.2, it came in above the market expectation of 54.5.

The inflation component of the PMI survey, the Price Paid sub-index, edged lower to 65.6 in February from 67.8 but surpassed analysts' estimate of 64.5. The New Orders sub-index rose to 62.6 from 60.4 and the Employment Index advanced to 54 from 50 in the same period.

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index gained traction with the initial reaction and was last seen trading flat on the day at 104.90.