Manufacturers report activity “weakened” in February as the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business general business conditions index dropped to negative 4.1 from positive 17.0 in January.
Economists surveyed by IFR Markets predicted a reading of 14.0 for the index.
The index was last in negative territory in May 2016, the Fed said.
The prices paid index was 21.8, down from 32.7 last month, new orders index declined to negative 2.4 from positive 21.3, shipments fell to negative 5.3 from positive 11.4, the unfilled orders index gained to 5.4 from 6.9, the delivery times index climbed to 13.6 from 13.4, inventories reversed to positive 3.3 from negative 7.6, prices received rose to 27.7 from 24.8, the number of employees index increased to 14.6 from 9.6, and the average employee workweek slid to 4.7 from 6.0.
The six months from now general business conditions index gained to 31.3 from 31.2 in last month’s survey, the prices paid index was at 39.8, down from 39.9 in the prior survey, and the prices received index dropped to 29.7 from 34.1. The capital expenditures index crept to 31.7 from 31.6 last month. The number of employees index declined to 23.6 from 34.7, while the average workweek index dropped to 6.9 from 17.0. The new orders index fell to 29.4 from 32.2, shipments rose to 39.8 from 36.2; and the unfilled orders index rebounded to positive 11.7 from negative 0.4. The delivery times index widened to negative 3.6 from negative 0.1, and inventories slipped to 4.2 from 7.8.
