US: Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index drops to 23.1 in February vs. 20 expected

Philly Fed Manufacturing Index fell less than expected in February.
US Dollar Index remains depressed after the data.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

The headline Diffusion Index of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey dropped to 23.1 in February from 26.5 in January. This reading came in better than the market expectation of 20.

Key takeaways

"The percentage of firms reporting increases this month (35%) exceeded the percentage reporting decreases (11%)."

"The index for new orders decreased 7 points to a reading of 23.4."

"Over 37% of the firms reported increases in new orders this month, compared with 45% last month."

"The current shipments index edged down 1 point to 21.5 in February."

Market reaction

The greenback remains on the back foot after this report and the US Dollar Index was last seen losing 0.4% on the day at 90.58.

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.

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