Highlights of the Empire Fed manufacturing index:
- Prior was +3.86
- Employment +1.82 vs +3.19 prior
- New orders -15.7 vs -3.5 prior
- Prices paid +7.27 vs +7.45
Wretched.
The Fed seems to think the strong US dollar won't have a noticeably negative impact on US manufacturers. This report seems to disagree.
It's the lowest reading since April 2009.
One line of thinking blames inventory drawdown for the weakness. Prior to the data, inventories were at their highest since 2009.
