Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s region “continued to show weakness in May,” although the general business conditions index improved slightly to negative 22.6 from negative 24.4 in April, this month’s Report on Business indicates.
Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted a reading of negative 18.0 for the index.
“Although the indexes for general activity, shipments, and employment improved, the index for new orders declined slightly,” according to the Fed. “Firms reported decreases in input prices and prices for their own manufactured goods; however, the corresponding price indexes rebounded slightly from their record lows last month. Most of the survey’s broad indicators of future activity improved notably again this month, suggesting that the region’s manufacturing executives are more optimistic that a recovery will occur over the next six months.”
