Investing.com - The New York Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions contracted unexpectedly in April, adding to concerns over the strength of the economy, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index decreased to -1.2 this month from a reading of 6.9 in March. Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 7.0 in April.
The new orders index, negative for a second consecutive month, dropped four points to -6.0, evidence that orders were declining.
The shipments index climbed to 15.2, indicating that shipments expanded at a solid pace.
Labor market indicators pointed to an increase in employment levels but a somewhat shorter workweek.
Input price increases picked up, with the prices paid index rising seven points to 19.2, while the prices received index fell four points to 4.3.
The future general business conditions index climbed for a second consecutive month, suggesting greater optimism among manufacturers than in February and March.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
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 1.0613 from around 1.0594 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4783 from 1.4762 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.48 from 119.56 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 99.26, compared to 99.42 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 0.3% at the open, the S&P 500 futures rose 0.25%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures tacked on 0.2%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,192.50 a troy ounce, compared to $1,189.70 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $53.95 a barrel from $53.96 earlier.