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Empire State August manufacturing index contracts unexpectedly

Published 08/15/2016, 08:32 AM
Updated 08/15/2016, 08:32 AM
© Reuters.  Empire State manufacturing index contracts in August

© Reuters. Empire State manufacturing index contracts in August

Investing.com - The New York Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions unexpectedly contracted in August, underlining concerns over the health of the economy, official data showed on Monday.

In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index fell to -4.2 this month from a reading of 0.55 in July. Analysts had expected the index to improve to 2.5 in August.

On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.

The new orders index remained near zero, a sign that orders were little changed, while the shipments index climbed eight points to 9.0, indicating that shipments rose.

Labor market indicators pointed to little change in employment levels and hours worked.

The prices paid index edged down to 15.5, suggesting that input price increases remained moderate, and at 2.1, the prices received index reflected a minute increase in selling prices.

Forward-looking indicators suggested that firms expected conditions to improve over the next six months, although the level of optimism diminished for a second consecutive month.

The Empire State index is of interest to traders primarily because it is seen as an early forecast of the national Institute for Supply management factory survey.

EUR/USD was trading at 1.1183 from around 1.1177 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.2890 from 1.2886 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 101.02 from 101.10 earlier.

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.55, compared to 95.57 ahead of the report.

Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a modestly higher open. The Dow futures pointed to an increase of 0.25%, the S&P 500 futures ticked up 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.2%.

Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,345.65 a troy ounce, compared to $1,344.50 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $44.69 a barrel from $44.77 earlier.

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