US: Empire State survey, Philly Fed survey and import prices in focus - Nomura

According to analysts at Nomura, for the first round of manufacturing survey indicators in March, we forecast a reading of 13.0 for the Empire State survey, essentially unchanged from February’s reading of 13.1.

Key Quotes

“While we remain optimistic about the manufacturing sector outlook, our neutral forecast for February largely reflects the downside risk of deterioration in manufacturers’ sentiment in response to rising trade tension and its implications for input costs.”

“Philly Fed survey: Similar to the Empire State survey, we forecast 25.0 for the topline index of the Philly Fed survey in March, largely reflecting increased input cost angst, and close to February’s 25.8 print.”

“Import prices: Import prices picked up notably in January with prices excluding petroleum products increasing 0.5% m-o-m, following continued weakness in the US dollar. Import price pressures in February could moderate somewhat relative to last month.”