Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region registered a surprise expansion in March after three-straight months of contraction, bolstering 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 12.4 this month from February's reading of -2.8. Analysts had expected the index to improve only to -1.7 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 with a reading of 15.7, compared to the February's drop of -5.3.
Keeping in mind that the weekly jobless claims were released simultaneously, EUR/USD traded at 1.1298, compared to 1.1296 prior to the publication, GBP/USD was at 1.4382 from 1.4394 ahead of the release of the data, while USD/JPY traded at 111.80 versus 111.57 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.08, from 95.05 before the release.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures pointed to a drop of 42 points, or 0.24%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a decline of 4 points, or 0.21%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures fell 15 points, or 0.33%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,264.30 a troy ounce, compared to $1,267.30 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $38.80 a barrel from $38.78 earlier.