US March Empire manufacturing index -20.0 versus -1.50 estimate

• Prior month 5.7 (were expecting -1.0)
• Empire manufacturing for March -20.0 versus -1.5 estimate

Details from the report:

• Manufacturing in NY Contracts: General business conditions index fell to -20.0, indicating contraction.
• Declining Orders & Shipments: New orders dropped to -14.9, shipments fell to -8.5.
• Inventory Growth: Inventories index rose to 13.3, highest in over two years.
• Steady Unfilled Orders & Delivery Times: Unfilled orders unchanged, delivery times index at 1.0.
• Rising Prices: Prices paid index surged to 44.9, highest in two years; prices received rose to 22.4.
• Employment & Workweek Decline: Employee index at -4.1, workweek index at -2.5.
• Falling Optimism: Future business activity index declined to 12.7, with weak capital spending plans.
• Expectations Ahead: Input prices to remain high, supply availability to tighten.

A look at the key levels:

• New orders -14.9 versus 11.4 last month. Lower
• Shipments -8.5 versus 14.2 last month. Lower
• Prices paid 44.9 versus 40.2 last month. Inflation higher
• Prices received 22.4 versus 19.6 last month. Inflation higher
• Number of employees -4.1 versus bias 3.6 last month. Lower
• Average workweek -2.5 versus -1.2 last month. Lower
• Supply availability -1 point versus -2.2 last month. Higher

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.