US: Philly Fed Nonmanufacturing Index declines to 15 in September as expected

The headline Diffusion Index of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook Survey edged lower to 15 in September from 17.2% in August. This reading came in line with market expectation.

Key takeaways

"The index for new orders increased from 19.0 to 25.5. Nearly 42% of the firms reported increases in new orders this month, while 16% reported decreases."

"The current shipments index increased 27 points to 36.6 in September. Over 45% of the firms reported higher shipments this month, compared with 26% last month."

"The current employment index increased 7 points to 15.7 this month."

"The survey’s future indexes suggest more widespread optimism about manufacturing activity over the next six months."

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index largely ignored this report and was last seen gaining 0.15% on the day at 93.24.