The dollar stayed under pressure on Tuesday after data showed U.S. manufacturing growth slowed to its weakest in 16 months, bolstering expectations that a slowing economy could prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. The dollar fell after the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index eased in September, but some traders said it was too early to say whether the data would trigger lasting losses in the currency. "The weak ISM was a bit of a surprise, so the dollar's down," said Takehiko Jimbo, forex manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking. But since the dollar has repeatedly bounced back from weak data lately, "it's still not clear whether a trend has begun", he said The U.S. currency has been torn between its interest rate advantage over rival currencies and growing signs of an economic slowdown, but the disappointing ISM data may serve as a wake-up call, market players said. "People are now looking for any weakness in the U.S. economy, so the dollar will react to anything that shows that," said Luke Waddington, head of forex trading in Tokyo at Royal Bank of Scotland. "The view is that U.S. rates have not only peaked but the forecast for a cut has come forward a bit," he said. The single currency hovered around 150.00 yen , within striking distance of a record peak of 150.73 yen hit late in August. The yen ticked up to the day's high against the dollar and the euro after Japan's new Finance Minister Koji Omi said that economic conditions had made it safe to declare an end to deflation. Omi later clarified he was speaking for himself and not as finance minister. Omi's comments came a day after the quarterly tankan survey showed business sentiment at a two-year high and the domestic economic recovery chugging along despite worries over a U.S. slowdown.