Investing.com - The New York Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions expanded for the second consecutive month in March to its highest level in more than a year, official data showed on Friday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index improved to 9.65 this month from a reading of 0.62 in March. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 2.21 in April.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
The new orders and shipments indexes registered an increase in both orders and shipments, and inventories were slightly lower than last month.
The prices paid index climbed sixteen points to 19.2, pointing to a pickup in input price increases, while the prices received index rose above zero, a sign that selling prices increased.
Employment levels and the average workweek were little changed from March.
The six-month outlook continued to improve, with the index for future business conditions rising for a third straight month.to high
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1283 from around 1.1282 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4176 from 1.4184 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 108.94 from 108.84 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.80, compared to 94.76 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures slipped 0.14%, the S&P 500 futures ticked down 0.18%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.18%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,232.20 a troy ounce, compared to $1,232.60 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $40.32 a barrel from $40.41 earlier.