The Chicago PMI rocketed to 58.7 from 49.0 in a rare sign of strength from the manufacturing sector. The employment and new orders numbers were also strong.
Subscribers are given the figure a couple minutes in advance so the market moved before the data was published.
After two days of steep US dollar declines, this could underpin a rebound. USD/JPY found some bids ahead of 100 and has quickly climbed to 100.84.