The US Philly Fed Manufacturing Index rose to 10.2 points. A score of 9 was predicted. This adds to the positive signs seen earlier.
The Philly index is a forward looking one, which makes it a very important and also a good indicator towards the Non-Farm Payrolls.
The downside here is that the employment component dropped to 1.1 points. This means little growth in employment, and is a bit worrying.
The reaction in the markets is positive: risk appetite is on. EUR/USD managed to emerge from the abyss of 1.30 and is now in the 1.30-1.3060 range.
Also in the US, Mortgage Delinquencies are at 7.58%, lower than 7.99% reported last month. Earlier, the US reported that jobless claims dropped to 348K, better than expected.