NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar climbed against the euro and sterling on Wednesday, starting the new year on a strong footing, but edged lower against the safe-haven Japanese yen as investors remained wary of slowing global growth and volatile equity markets.

Weak manufacturing data from Spain, France, Italy, and Germany, sent the euro 1.1 percent lower, on pace for its worst day against the U.S. dollar in more than six months.

“Data out of the euro area this morning was generally on the softer side,” said Eric Viloria, FX strategist at Credit Agricole in New York.

Factory activity weakened across much of Europe and Asia in December as the U.S.-China trade war and a slowdown in demand hit production in many economies, offering little reason for optimism as the new year began.