Forexpros – The New York Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions deteriorated significantly more-than-expected in August, slipping below zero for the first time since October 2011, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index fell by 13.2 points to minus 5.8 in August from a reading of 7.4 in July.
Analysts had expected the index to decline by 0.9 points to 6.5 in August.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
At minus 5.5, the new orders index was below zero for a second consecutive month, and the shipments index fell 6.0 to 4.1.
The prices paid index climbed 9.0 points to 16.5, pointing to a pickup in the pace of increase in input prices.
The index for number of employees inched lower, but remained positive at 16.5, suggesting a moderate increase in employment levels.
Indexes for the six-month outlook were generally positive but lower than in July, indicating that respondents expected business conditions to improve little in the months ahead.
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.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar remained higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.32% to trade at 1.2282.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures held on to mild losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a decline of 0.15%, S&P 500 futures indicated a decrease of 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled a 0.1% decline at the open.
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