An index of manufacturing conditions in the New York area recovered slightly in December after a surprise negative reading in the prior month. But the improvement was below expectations and suggested that factory activity was treading water in the region.
The Empire State’s general business conditions index rose to 1.0 in December from negative 2.2 in November.
The Empire State’s general business conditions index rose to 1.0 in December from negative 2.2 in November.
The recovery was less than expected.Economists polled by MarketWatchexpected a positive 5.0 reading.
The so-called internals were generally disappointing: the new-orders component remained a negative 3.5 from negative 5.5 and labor market indicators remained weak.
One bright spot was the shipment component, which improved to 7.7 in December from negative 0.5 in the prior month.
The Empire State index is the first of several regional manufacturing gauges to be released. They can frequently be volatile from month to month but taken together they present one of the timeliest reads on a critically cyclical sector.
The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book has reported that manufacturing activity across the country has expanded at a “modest to moderate pace.”
Source: Marketwatch
