Feb 15 (Reuters) – Manufacturing activity in the New York area contracted for the third straight month in February, but less than expected, the Federal Reserve’s regional branch monthly survey showed on Wednesday.
The “Empire State” index fell to -5.8 in February from -32.9 in January, which recorded the lowest level since the middle of 2020.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected an index of -18.0 for the month.
An index below zero indicates that New York’s manufacturing sector is contracting.
The new orders component came out at -7.8 in February against +31.1 in January and that of employment fell slightly (-6.6 against +2.8 a month ago) for the first time since June 2020 and the hiring outlook was the weakest since 2016.
The sub-index measuring companies’ judgment of their six-month outlook for activity jumped to +14.7 in February – the highest level reached since May 2022 – against +8.0 in January
(Reporting by Dan Burns, French version Dina Kartit, editing by Kate Entringer)
