Washington (awp / afp) – Manufacturing activity in the highly industrialized Northeastern US region of New York deteriorated again in October, and more than expected, and companies are not optimistic about the coming months.
The Empire State monthly index, released Monday by the New York Fed, the regional branch of the US central bank, fell 8 points to -9.1 points.
An index below zero means that the asset is contracting.
And the decline is stronger than expected, as analysts expected -5.0 points, according to a consensus from MarketWatch.
Activity is down for the third consecutive month in this region. The index also recorded the second largest decline in its history in August, behind April 2020.
“New orders, backorders and shipments have changed little since last month,” the New York Fed said in its statement, while “delivery times have remained stable and inventories have increased slightly.”
The indicators also show “a slight increase in employment and the average working week”.
The situation, on the other hand, does not improve on the inflationary front, since “the increase in the prices of raw materials and spare parts has accelerated, while the rate of increase in sales prices has remained constant”.
And the region’s industrialists are pessimistic for the next few months, as, the Fed specifies, “for the future, companies do not expect trade conditions to improve in the next six months”.
afp / rp
