NY Empire State Manufacturing Index improves to 21.1 in October from 19 in September

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

"Business activity continued to grow strongly in New York State, according to firms responding to the October 2018 Empire State Manufacturing Survey," the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Monday.

Key highlights

The headline general business conditions index rose two points to 21.1, pointing to a slightly faster pace of growth than in September.
New orders and shipments both picked up noticeably.
Delivery times continued to lengthen, while inventories held steady.
Labor market indicators pointed to a modest increase in employment levels and no change in hours worked.
Price indexes edged down but remained elevated, suggesting ongoing significant increases in both input prices and selling prices.
Looking ahead, firms generally remained optimistic about the six-month outlook.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

GBP/USD advances to six-month high above 1.3650

GBP/USD extends its weekly rally and trades at its highest level since February above 1.3650 as the upbeat PMI data supports Pound Sterling despite disappointing Retail Sales figures. Meanwhile, the US Dollar (USD) struggles to stay resilient against its peers following the Treasury Department's decision to boost long-term bond purchases earlier in the week, helping the pair gather bullish momentum ahead of US PMI data.

EUR/USD rises above 1.1700 ahead of US PMI data

EUR/USD gains traction in the European session on Friday and trades above 1.1700 despite the mixed PMI prints from Germany and the Eurozone. Investors await preliminary August PMI surveys for the US, while the persistent USD weakness allows the pair to keep cling to its bullish stance.

Gold tests three-month highs near $4,600 as the US Dollar dives

Gold extends gains on Friday, with bulls aiming for a retest of the $4,600 resistance area, the top of the last six months' trading range. Precious metals are gaining momentum, favoured by a sharp US Dollar selloff, following the announcement of a US Treasury plan to boost liquidity to repurchase long-term securities.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP bulls accelerate rally amid rising ETF inflows

The cryptocurrency market remains bullish on Friday, led by Bitcoin’s surge above $77,000. Altcoins, including Ethereum and Ripple, mirror BTC’s positive outlook, trading near $2,400 and $1.35, respectively.

S&P Global US PMIs expected to ease slightly in August, still showing solid growth

S&P Global will release the preliminary figures of August’s US Purchasing Managers' Indices (PMIs). For August, the market consensus anticipates a mild slowdown in economic activity, with the Manufacturing PMI ticking down to 53.8 from July’s 53.9 reading and the Services PMI easing to 54.0 from last month’s 54.6.

$20 billion offered, $2 billion taken: Why Treasury doubled its buyback cap

The US Treasury moved off its own calendar on Wednesday, and that is the part worth sitting with. At 12:32 GMT, the department said it would at least double the size of liquidity support buyback operations in the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors, lifting the maximum from $2 billion per operation to at least $4 billion, effective September 9 and running to November 4.