In the US session Unemployment Claims and Philly Fed Manufacturing Index figures were released. In the week ending September 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 259,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 2,000 from 284,000 to 282,000. The 4-week moving average was 268,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised average. This is the highest level for this average since June 4, 2016 when it was 269,500. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma impacted this week's claims.
The index for current manufacturing activity in the region increased 5 points to a reading of 23.8 and has remained positive for 14 consecutive months. Nearly 39 percent of the firms indicated increases in activity this month; 15 percent reported a decrease in activity. The new orders and shipments indexes also registered an improvement, increasing 9 points and 8 points, respectively. Both the unfilled orders and delivery times indexes were positive for the 11th consecutive month, suggesting longer delivery times and an increase in unfilled orders.
Tomorrow's session will bring French and German PMI figures. French Manufacturing and Services PMI should remain unchanged, while German Manufacturing PMI should decrease slightly, though Services PMI is expected to rise. There will be no data releases from USA.
Figures to watch:
French Flash Manufacturing PMI/French Flash Services PMI (Friday 9:00)
German Flash Manufacturing PMI/German Flash Services PMI (Friday 9:30)
