Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region registered a second consecutive surprise contraction in May, 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 deteriorated further with a decline of 1.8 this month from April’s reading of -1.6.
Analysts had expected the index to return to expansion by improving to 3.5 in May.
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 further deteriorated with a reading of -1.9, compared to the April's flat reading.
The employment index showed a drop of 3.3 in May, which was an improvement when compared to a prior decline of 18.5.
Keeping in mind that the weekly jobless claims were released simultaneously, EUR/USD traded at 1.1191, compared to 1.1188 prior to the publication, GBP/USD was at 1.4602 from 1.4612 ahead of the release of the data, while USD/JPY traded at 110.04 versus 110.04 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.40, unchanged from before the release.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures pointed to a drop of 39 points, or 0.22%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a decline of 5 points, or 0.24%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures fell 12 points, or 0.28%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,249.35 a troy ounce, compared to $1,248.85 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $47.08 a barrel from $47.09 earlier.