Credit: Investing.com -
Investing.com - The New York Federal Reserve's index of manufacturing conditions improved at a faster rate than expected in January, easing concerns over the strength of the economy, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index increased to 10.0 this month from a reading of -3.6 in December. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 5.0 in January.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
This month's survey also showed modest growth in new orders and shipments.
Labor market conditions were mixed, with the index for number of employees rising several points to 13.7, while the average workweek index remained negative at -8.4.
Both the prices paid and prices received indexes came in at 12.6, indicating a continued modest increase in input prices and selling prices.
As has been the case for much of the past year, indexes for the six-month outlook pointed to widespread optimism about future 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 1.1692 from around 1.1698 ahead of the release of the data, while GBP/USD was at 1.5236 from 1.5258 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 116.80 from 116.58 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 92.17, compared to 92.09 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 0.1% at the open, the S&P 500 futures dipped 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.1%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,255.70 a troy ounce, compared to $1,255.80 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $49.76 a barrel from $49.80 earlier.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
