Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region contracted for the second straight month in October, fueling concern over the U.S. economic outlook, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index improved to -4.5 this month from September's reading of -6.0. Analysts had expected the index to rise to -1.0 in October.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates improving conditions, below indicates worsening conditions.
The indicator for general activity remained negative, while the new orders and shipments indexes turned negative this month. Labor market indicators also weakened.
The survey’s indicators for prices of inputs and for firms’ own products suggest near-steady prices this month.
Although the survey’s future indicators decreased this month, a minority of firms expect a continued downturn in business activity over the next six months.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1376 from around 1.1371 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5435 from 1.5423 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 118.52 from 118.64 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.52, compared to 94.59 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 53 points, or 0.31%, the S&P 500 tacked on 7 points, or 0.37%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 29 points, or 0.6%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,183.30 a troy ounce, compared to $1,181.50 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $45.89 a barrel from $45.85 earlier.