Investing.com - The New York Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions fell unexpectedly in December, dropping into negative territory for the first time in almost two years, according to data released on Monday.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that its index of general business conditions came in at minus 3.6 this month, down from 10.16 in November. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 12.52.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
The new orders index also fell into negative territory, dropping eleven points to minus 2.0. The shipments index also fell to minus 2.0.
The report said labor market conditions were mixed, with the index for number of employees holding steady at 8.3, while the average workweek index declined to minus 11.5.
Indexes for the six month outlook continued to convey optimism, but to a somewhat lesser extent than in recent months.
The Empire State manufacturing index is seen as an early forecast of the Institute for Supply Managements factory survey.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.2436 from around 1.2417 ahead of the release of the data, while USD/JPY was at 118.63 from 118.88 earlier.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pared gains following the report, but still pointed to a broadly higher open. The Dow futures index was up 0.47%, the S&P 500 futures gained 0.60%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures index rose 0.76%.