Adam had the preview for CPI, and is worth a read as we head to the numbers at the bottom of the hour
The Empire numbers aren't going to change the Fed's minds on whether they hike or not but just like in Adam's preview, now it's more about the message they give for the future
The Empire numbers is one of my favourite. It's not a big market mover but it's the first manufacturing data of the new month and often sets the pace for the rest to follow
Last month it missed expectations by some margin but did come in better than October, and came of the low for the year. Today it's expected to improve further to -7.00 from -10.74 in Nov
Employment and prices will be key again and the jobs index remained negative at -7.27 last month. Prices paid actually rose from 0.94 to 4.55 in Nov and prices received were higher at -4.55 vs -8.49 prior, so there are inflationary signs, albeit small
We also squeeze in the Phiily Fed and Markit manufacturing before the end of the year but the ISM will come in the New Year, so a bit of a wait for the big numbers