The Empire State Manufacturing Survey “indicates that conditions for New York manufacturers deteriorated further in March,” the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported yesterday, as the general business conditions index slumped to an all-time low of negative 22.23 in March from negative 11.72 in February.
The previous low for the index was negative 19.6 in November 2001.
The new orders index improved to negative 4.69 from negative 11.88, while the shipments index slid to negative 5.20 from negative 4.86, and unfilled orders reversed to positive 1.12 from negative 1.05, the Fed said.
Economists surveyed by IFR Markets expected the index to be negative 6.30.
Looking six months into the future, the general business conditions index rose to 25.77 from 22.72 last month.
