Investing.com - The New York Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions improved at a weaker rate than expected in February, adding to concerns over the strength of the economy, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index decreased to 7.8 this month from a reading of 10.0 in January. Analysts had expected the index to dip to 8.5 in February.
The new orders index fell five points to 1.2, evidence that orders were flat, while the shipments index climbed to 14.1.
Employment indexes pointed to an increase in employment levels and little change in the average workweek.
The prices paid index inched up two points to 14.6, indicating continued moderate input price increases, while the prices received index fell nine points to 3.4, suggesting a slowdown in selling price increases.
Indexes for the six-month outlook, while generally positive, conveyed markedly less optimism than in recent months, with the index for future general business conditions falling twenty-three points.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
The Empire State index is of interest to traders primarily because it is seen as an early forecast of the national Institute for Supply management factory survey.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1419 from around 1.1415 ahead of the release of the data, while GBP/USD was at 1.5251 from 1.5353 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 118.79 from 118.77 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.07, compared to 94.06 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed open. The Dow futures pointed to a loss of 0.15% at the open, the S&P 500 futures dipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures tacked on 0.1%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,222.60 a troy ounce, compared to $1,222.80 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $53.70 a barrel from $53.57 earlier.