NY Empire State Manufacturing Index

Dollar continued to strengthen against major currency pairs (except the Swiss franc) even after the very pessimistic release of the December NY Empire State Manufacturing Index report, which fell down by 17 points to 10.3. Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that the new orders and shipments declined significantly in December according to their survey.
Among the good news was the Treasury International Capital report for October — net foreign purchases of the long-term securities was at the pretty high number (compared to $15.4B revised for September) — $114 billion, showing some elevated confidence in the U.S. economy.