NY Fed Empire State Manufacturing Index comes in at 20.6 against 8.4 consensus

The NY Fed Empire State Manufacturing Index for August was released today, showing a reading of 20.6. This figure significantly exceeded the consensus expectation of 8.4, representing a 145.2% surprise against forecasts. The actual print also marked an increase from the previous month’s value of 15.6.

Following the release, market reaction has been observed across several pairs. Fifteen minutes after the data, AUDUSD was down 1.1 pips, while EURUSD was up 2.6 pips. GBPUSD gained 1.8 pips, and NZDUSD saw a decline of 1.2 pips. USDCAD moved down 4.7 pips, USDCHF was down 1.8 pips, and USDJPY was up 0.9 pips. XAUUSD moved down 68 pips. For most major currency pairs, these initial moves are relatively small compared to their median 1-hour moves, which typically range from 6 to 12 pips after similar releases. XAUUSD’s move of -68 pips is larger than its median 1-hour move of 32 pips.