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August 20, 2026
Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity continued to expand in August, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity climbed from 41.4 in July to 47.4 in August, with a positive reading indicating growth. With the increase, the Philly Fed index reached its highest level since hitting 48.8 in April 2021. The advance by the headline index partly reflected a spike by the employment index, which surged from 10.0 in July to a four-year high of 27.9 in August.
Meanwhile, the Philly Fed said the new orders and shipments indexes moved lower during the month but remained elevated. The new orders index slumped from 37.0 in July to 30.1 in August, while the shipments index tumbled from 33.7 in July to 27.7 in August. The report also said both price indexes declined to their lowest readings since February but remained above their long-run non-recession averages. While the prices paid index plummeted from 53.9 in July to 40.9 in August, the prices received index plunged from 27.4 in July to 17.7 in August.
A separate report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday said New York manufacturing activity grew strongly in the month of August. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index climbed from 15.6 in July to 20.6 in August, with a positive reading indicating growth. With the increase, the New York Fed's general business conditions index reached its highest level since hitting 34.4 in December 2021. 08/20/2026 - 10:06:00 (RTTNews)
The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits declined in the week ending on August 15th. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 206,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's level of 212,000. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average rose to 204,000, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week's average of 199,750.
The report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment benefits, also climbed by 18,000 to 1.799 million in the week ending on August 8th. The four-week moving average of continuing claims also edged up to 1,789,000, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's average of 1,786,500. 08/20/2026 - 09:41:00 (RTTNews)
Euro traded at 1.1679 against USD at 9:00 AM PST
Germany's producer price inflation hit the highest in more than three years in July. Producer prices logged an annual increase of 3.0% in July, faster than the 1.8% rise in June. This was the highest rate since April 2023, when prices advanced 5.2%. Monthly, producer prices climbed by 1.1%, in contrast to the 0.3% fall in June.
Higher prices for intermediate goods and energy drove the annual increase. Intermediate goods prices rose 5.4%, and energy prices were up 3.8%. Prices of capital and durable consumer goods gained 2.3% and 2.0%. Meanwhile, non-durable consumer goods dropped 2.3%. 08/20/2026 - 03:27:00 (RTTNews)
British Pound traded at 1.3636 against USD at 9:00 AM PST
United Kingdom manufacturing order books registered a significant improvement in August as export orders recovered to "normal" for the first time in over four years. The order book balance rose sharply from -45% in July to -25% in August. Nonetheless, the balance remained below its long-run average of -14%. The export order books balance posted zero compared to -33% in July.
In the three months to August, output continued to fall, but the indicator rose to -17% from -24% in the quarter to July. A net 7% expects output volume to fall again in the three months to November. The score hit the highest since the beginning of the Iran war. Further, expectations for average selling price inflation remained elevated in August, as the index rose from 11% in July to 22%. 08/20/2026 - 07:51:00 (RTTNews)
Australia's unemployment rate rose slightly in July and employment decreased. The unemployment rate rose from 4.4% in June to 4.5% in July. Employment decreased by 15,800 in July from the previous month. Unemployment increased by 4,200. At the same time, youth unemployment dropped by 0.3% to 10.4%. The labor participation rate fell by 0.2% to 66.9% in July. 08/20/2026 - 02:46:00 (RTTNews)
Hong Kong's consumer price inflation moderated in July to the lowest level in three months. The consumer price index (CPI) climbed 1.7% year-over-year in July, slower than June's stable increase of 2.0%. Netting out the effects of all governments' one-off relief measures, the underlying inflation rate also stayed unchanged at 1.9%.
Inflation based on transportation softened from 5.4% to 5.1%, and utility charges also grew at a slower pace of 0.8% versus 1.7% in June. Clothing and footwear prices rose at a stable pace of 0.7%, while the deflation in food items slowed from 0.5% to 0.2%. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average monthly rate of change in the Composite CPI for the 3-month period ending July was 0.2%. 08/20/2026 - 07:01:00 (RTTNews)
This market update is prepared by Cathay Bank for informational purposes only and does not constitute any form of legal, tax or investment advice, nor should it be considered an assurance or guarantee of future exchange rate movements or trends. This information is provided without regard to the specific objectives, financial situations or needs of any recipient. Cathay Bank does not make any representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of this market update.
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