US: NY Fed Empire State Manufacturing Index improves to -1.5 in September

• NY Fed Empire State Manufacturing Index rose in September but stayed in negative territory.
• US Dollar Index edges lower, trades below 109.50.

The headline General Business Conditions Index of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Empire State Manufacturing survey improved to -1.5 in September from -31.3 in August. This reading came in better than the market expectation of -13.

"Labor market indicators pointed to a modest increase in employment and no change in the average workweek," the NY Fed said in its publication. "Price indexes moved notably lower, pointing to a deceleration in price increases. Looking ahead, firms were not very optimistic that business conditions would improve over the next six months."

Market reaction

The greenback is facing modest bearish pressure in the early American session and the US Dollar Index was last seen losing 0.17% on a daily basis at 109.45.