US economic data on Thursday were positive.
Markit's US manufacturing PMI rose to 56.7 in February, its highest since May 2010, from 53.7 in January.
The Conference Board's index of US leading indicators rose 0.3 percent in January.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 3,000 to 336,000 last week.
The consumer price index rose 0.1 percent in January, less than the 0.2 percent increase in December. However, the 12-month increase was 1.6 percent, the biggest since July.
Economic data elsewhere on Thursday were not as positive.
In the euro area, Markit's composite index fell to 52.7 in February from 52.9 in January. The services index rose to 51.7 from 51.6 but the manufacturing index fell to 53.0 from 54.0.
In addition, the consumer confidence index for the euro area fell to minus 12.7 in February from minus 11.7 in January.
In China, a preliminary reading showed that HSBC's manufacturing PMI fell to 48.3 in February from 49.5 in January.
No comments:
Post a Comment