US: Empire State Manufacturing Index plummets to -21.5, lowest reading since 2009

• NY Fed's Empire State Manufacturing Index fell sharply in March.
• US Dollar Index stays deep in the negative territory below 98.

The headline General Business Conditions Index of the NY Fed's Empire State Manufacturing Survey dropped to its lowest level since 2009 at -21.5 in March from 12.9 in February to record its largest monthly decline ever. This reading came in much worse than the market expectation of 4.

"The new orders index dropped to -9.3, pointing to a decline in orders, and the shipments index fell to -1.7," the publication further read. "Optimism about the six-month outlook fell sharply, with firms less optimistic than they have been since 2009."

USD reaction

The greenback largely ignored this data and the US Dollar Index was last seen erasing nearly 1% on the day at 97.72.