Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index soars more-than-expected

Forex Pros – Manufacturing activity in Philadelphia increased significantly more-than-expected in November, rising to the highest level since February, official data showed on Thursday.

In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index rose to 22.0 in November, after rising to 1.0 in October.

Analysts had expected the index to rise to 4.5 in November.

The report said that all of the survey's broad indicators of economic performance showed improvement from their reading in October, and firms reported an increase in employment and work hours.

In addition, the survey's broad indicators of future activity suggest that firms remain optimistic about growth over the next six months.

Following the release of the data the U.S. dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.84% to hit 1.3645.

Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets were broadly higher: the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1.45%, the S&P 500 index soared 1.52%, while the Nasdaq 100 jumped 1.61%.