Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the Chicago-area fell back in November from what had been a three-high in the previous month, but did not decline as much as feared, industry data showed on Friday.
In a report, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its Chicago purchasing managers’ index decreased by 2.3 points to a seasonally adjusted 63.9 this month from a reading of 66.2 in October.
Analysts had expected the index to decrease by 3.2 points to 63.0 in November.
On the index, a number above 50.0 indicates an expansion, while below indicates contraction.
MNI Indicators, which helps elaborate the report, noted that the decline was led by new orders and order backlogs and although the headline number hit a three-month low, commented that it was “set to end 2017 robustly”.
MNI Indicators highlighted that prices paid increased on a wide range of inputs, from fabric to alloys, and that firms commented they remained “expensive”.
These experts also revealed that, out of the companies surveyed, only 23% think another near-term rate hike would be harmful to their business.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1896 from around 1.1893 ahead of the publication; GBP/USD was at 1.3492 from 1.3491 earlier; while USD/JPY was at 111.98 from 112.01 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 92.92 from 93.24 before the report..
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were trading higher after the open. The Dow 30 gained 103 points, or 0.43%, the S&P 500 rose 11 points, or 0.43%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 24 points, or 0.35%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,279.19 a troy ounce, compared to $1,279.24 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $57.64 a barrel from $57.66 earlier.