New York Manufacturing Index Jumps To Multi-Year High In April

New York manufacturing activity grew strongly in the month of April, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York revealed in a report on Thursday.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index climbed to 26.3 in April from 17.4 in March, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 19.5.

With the much bigger than expected increase, the general business conditions index reached its highest level since hitting 26.6 in October of 2017.

The jump by the headline index was partly due to a substantial acceleration in the pace of growth in new orders, as the new orders index spiked to 26.9 in April from 9.1 in March.

The report said the shipments index also rose to 25.0 in April from 21.1 in March, while the number of employees index advanced to 13.9 from 9.4.

On the inflation front, the prices paid index jumped to 74.7 in April from 64.4 in March, reaching its highest level since July of 2008.

The prices received index also surged up to a record high 34.9 in April from 24.2 in March, indicating that selling prices increased at the fastest pace in more than twenty years.

Looking ahead, the New York Fed said firms remained optimistic that conditions would improve over the next six months.

The index for future business conditions rose to 39.8 in April from 36.4 in March, with firms expecting significant increases in employment and prices.

A separate report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showed an unexpected acceleration in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in the month of April.

The Philly Fed said its index for current manufacturing activity rose to 50.2 in April from a downwardly revised 44.5 in March.

The increase surprised economists, who had expected the index to drop to 42.0 from the 51.8 originally reported for the previous month.