US ISM Manufacturing surprised to the upside in December

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in December for the second straight month. The ISM Manufacturing PMI improved to 47.4 from 46.7 in the previous month, surpassing at the same time market consensus at 47.1.

Extra details of the release showed the ISM Manufacturing Employment rose to 48.1 (from 45.8), ISM Manufacturing New Orders eased to 47.1 and finally ISM Manufacturing Prices decreased to 45.2.

Market reaction

The USD Index (DX) pulled back from the highest level in almost three weeks near 102.60 to the 102.30 region soon after the release. The knee-jerk also followed the lower-than-expected reading from the November’s JOLTs Job Openings (8.79M).