After quite a bit of mixed or below data, the ISM Manufacturing PMI beats expectations with a score of 58.7 points. New orders are at 66 points – very strong. The employment component is down, just a bit though, to 54.9 points. Apart from prices, that dropped to 44.5 points (significant contraction), things are good.
However, the dollar’s initial reaction is not really positive. Update: the greenback now moves up, with EUR/USD moving down from 1.25.
The ISM purchasing managers’ index for the manufacturing sector was expected to slide from the high of 59 points in October to 57.9 in November. This is the first significant hint towards the Non-Farm Payrolls report on Friday.
The dollar was on the back foot towards the event: EUR/USD was climbing towards 1.25, GBP/USD advanced towards 1.5750, USD/JPY was down to 118, AUD/USD traded around 0.8520 and USD/CAD at 1.1365.
The final read for Markit’s manufacturing PMI released earlier hit 54.8 points, up from 54.8 originally reported.
More:
- Where To Sell EUR/USD? Morgan Stanley
- JPY ready to strengthen, EUR/USD could go south – Elliott Wave Analysis
