Analysts at Nomura are forecasting a reading of 17.0 for the US Empire State manufacturing survey in June, a modest 3pp decline largely reflecting concerns about US trade policy.
Key Quotes
“The past few months have seen increased volatility in manufacturing sentiment as businesses struggle to incorporate US trade policy announcements. After some deterioration in April following a pickup in trade tensions, sentiment rebounded in May as US-China relations improved on the margin. However, the recent application of steel and aluminum tariffs on major US suppliers (the EU, Canada and Mexico) will likely result in a modest pullback in manufacturer sentiment in June. Despite our forecast for June, we think business prospects overall for 2018 remain bright as does the US economic outlook.”