Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region contracted for the third straight month in February, dampening optimism over the health of the economy, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index improved to -2.8 this month from January's reading of -3.5. Analysts had expected the index to rise to -3.0 in February.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
With regard to future activity in the sector, new orders increased its decline with a reading of -5.3, compared to the January's drop of -1.4.
EUR/USD was unchanged at 1.1085, GBP/USD was at 1.4374 from 1.4366 ahead of the release of the data, while USD/JPY remained trading at 113.84.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was also unaffected as it continued trading at 96.98.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 56 points, or 0.34%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 5 points, or 0.43%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures increased 18 points, or 0.43%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,027.50 a troy ounce, compared to $1,207.90 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $31.44 a barrel from $31.45 earlier.