Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region contracted unexpectedly in December, 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 deteriorated to -5.9 this month from November's reading of 1.9. Analysts had expected the index to dip to 1.5 in December.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
The indexes for new orders and shipments were mixed. Firms reported slight increases in overall employment this month and an increase in average work hours compared with November.
Manufactured goods prices, as well as input prices, declined this month. Nearly all of the survey’s future indicators showed notable weakening this month.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0841 from around 1.0836 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4918 from 1.4909 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 122.48 from 122.55 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 98.97, compared to 99.02 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 38 points, or 0.23%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a rise 4 points, or 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures increased 18 points, or 0.38%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,061.20 a troy ounce, compared to $1,061.50 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $35.33 a barrel from $35.27 earlier.