Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region recovered as expected in August after a surprise deterioration in the previous month, dampening concern 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 rose to 2.0 this month from July’s reading of minus 2.9, in line with the consensus estimate.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
Business conditions also improved in August, rising to 45.8, from the prior month's reading of 33.7.
The CAPEX index also rose to 19.20 this month, from July's 15.10.
With regard to future activity in the sector, new orders deteriorated to minus 7.2, compared to the July's reading of 11.8.
The employment index fell sharply to negative 20.0 in August, compared to a prior decline of 1.6.
Immediately following the report, that was released simultaneously with the weekly jobless claims, the dollar was holding near a seven-week low.
EUR/USD traded at 1.1310, compared to 1.1319 prior to the publication, GBP/USD was at 1.3147 from 1.3156 ahead of the release of the data, while USD/JPY traded at 100.45 versus 100.39 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.49, compared to 94.42 before the release.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open. The Dow futures pointed to a drop of 10 points, or 0.05%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a decline of 2 points, or 0.10%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 5 points, or 0.11%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,355.60 a troy ounce, compared to $1,354.95 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $47.09 a barrel from $47.05 earlier.