Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the Chicago-area in March returned to expansion, boosting optimism over the U.S. economic outlook, industry data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its Chicago purchasing managers’ index increased by 6 points to a seasonally adjusted 53.6 this month from a reading of 47.6 in February. Analysts had expected the index to rise only 2.4 points to 50.0 in March.
The increase in the business barometer was led by a very sharp rise in production, which followed an even steeper decline in the previous month.
The biggest surprise came from the employment component which rose above the 50 mark in March and to the highest level since April 2015.
Both new orders and order backlogs also posted significant increases, with backlogs just short of moving into expansion for what would have been the first time since January 2015.
Chief Economist of MNI Indicators Philip Uglow said, “The most significant result from the March survey is the pick-up in the employment component which has remained weak for much of the past year.”
“Looking through some of the recent volatility, the data are consistent with steady, not spectacular, economic growth in the U.S.,” he added.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1392 from around 1.1394 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4357 from 1.4370 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 112.24 from 112.15 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was unchanged at 94.41.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were slightly higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 0.14%, the S&P 500 edged up 0.10%, while the Nasdaq Composite tacked on 0.16%.