Investing.com - The New York Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions contracted for the fourth straight month in November, dampening optimism over the strength of the economy, official data showed on Monday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index improved to -10.7 this month from a reading of -11.4 in October. Analysts had expected the index to rise to -6.0 in November.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening 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 1.0732 from around 1.0728 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5197 from 1.5194 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 123.03 from 123.12 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 99.20, compared to 99.22 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a steady open. The Dow futures rose 1 point, or 0.03%, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 3 points, or 0.12%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 2 points, or 0.05%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,088.50 a troy ounce, compared to $1,088.20 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $41.17 a barrel from $41.19 earlier.