Investing.com - Business activity in New York State declined for a second-month running and came in below consensus, according to a report released on Wednesday.
The New York Federal Reserve reported that its Empire State manufacturing index fell to 18.0 in December from the prior 19.4. That was below consensus expectations for a reading of 18.6 and was the second consecutive month of declines after business activity in the region hit a three-year high of 30.2 in October.
The index rates general business conditions in New York. A level above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
The new orders index and the shipments index both showed “sustained strong gains”, according to the report, with the former holding steady at 19.5 and the latter edging up to 22.4.
Firms reported that delivery times were slightly longer than last month while inventory levels were stable.
Labor market indicators pointed to a small increase in employment but no change in hours worked, the NY Fed said.
Both input prices and selling prices rose at a somewhat faster pace than last month, the report indicated.
Indexes assessing the six-month outlook suggested that firms remained optimistic about future business conditions, the report concluded.
Following the report, EUR/USD trading at 1.1804 from around 1.1807 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3357 from 1.3374 previously, while USD/JPY was unchanged at 112.22.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 93.54 compared to 93.50 before the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures gained 89 points, or 0.36%, the S&P 500 futures rose 8 points, or 0.30%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 19 points, or 0.29%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures changed hands at $1,263.40, compared to $1,264.30 prior to the release, while crude oil traded at $57.33, compared to 57.24 ahead of the report.