Philadelphia Fed Index Drops to 18.5 in April

The Philadelphia region's manufacturing sector continued to expand, but at a slower pace in April, as the general business conditions index slumped to 18.5 from 43.4 in March, according to this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business.

Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted a reading of 37.0 for the index.

The prices paid index was 57.1, down from 63.8 in March, while the new orders index plunged to 18.8 from 40.3 and shipments slid to 29.1 from 34.9.

The unfilled orders index slipped to 14.9 from 12.9, the delivery times index grew to 11.2 from 8.5, and inventories dropped to 1.7 from 12.0.

Meanwhile, prices received increased to 27.5 from 22.6, the number of employees index fell to 12.3 from 18.2, and the average employee workweek climbed to 17.7 from 13.2.

The general business conditions index for six months from now plunged to 33.6 from 63.0 in last month's survey. April's capital expenditures index fell to 20.0 from 34.5 in March.

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