Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region contracted for the second straight month in January, dampening 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 -3.5 this month from December's reading of -5.9. Analysts had expected the index to rise to -5.0 in December.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
Shipments increased this month, but new orders and employment declined modestly. The survey’s price indexes suggest continued downward pressure on manufacturing prices.
With respect to the manufacturers’ forecasts, nearly all the survey’s future indicators showed continued weakening this month while remaining positive.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0890 from around 1.0892 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4114 from 1.4119 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 117.17 from 117.11 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 99.19, compared to 99.21 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 17 points, or 0.11%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 5 points, or 0.27%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures increased 15 points, or 0.35%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,098.90 a troy ounce, compared to $1,099.20 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $28.13 a barrel from $28.16 earlier.