US Empire State Manufacturing business conditions rose to 12.1 in February, up from 3.5, well above expectation of 5.5. That’s also the highest level since July 2020. 32% of respondents reported that conditions had improved, while 20% said conditions had worsened.
New orders rose 4.2 pts to 10.8. Shipments dropped -3.3 to 4.0. Prices paid jumped 12.3 pts to 57.8. Prices received also rose 8.2 to 15.2. Number of employees edged up by 0.9 to 12.1 Average employee workweek also rose slightly by 2.7 to 9.0.
RBA Kent: Aussie could be 5% higher without RBA policy
RBA Assistant Governor Christopher Kent said in a speech that some factors have contributed to the appreciation of the Australian Dollar since November. The factors include “general improvement in the outlook for global growth” and a “marked increase in many commodity prices”.
Iron ore prices “has increased by around 40 per cent” since early November. And, “historical relationships with commodity prices would have implied a much larger appreciation of the Australian dollar than what’s actually occurred,” he added.
“While history only provides a rough guide, this difference suggests that the Bank’s policy measures have contributed to the Australian dollar being as much as 5 per cent lower than otherwise (in trade-weighted terms),” Kent said.
Full speech here.