Manufacturing conditions in the Philadelphia region have seen a slight improvement in the month of November, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia revealed in a report on Thursday.
The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current activity rose to a positive 1.9 in November from a negative 4.5 in October.
The positive reading indicated growth in regional manufacturing activity after two months of contraction. The index had been expected to rise to a negative 0.5.
The increase by the headline index was partly due to a turnaround in employment, as the number of employees index climbed to a positive 2.6 in November from a negative 1.7 in October.
The indexes for new orders and shipments also increased compared to the previous month but remained in negative territory.
The new orders index rose to a negative 3.7 in November from a negative 10.6 in October, while the shipments index improved to a negative 2.5 from a negative 6.1.
On the inflation front, the prices paid index fell to a negative 4.9 in November from a negative 0.1 in October, and the prices received index dipped to a negative 0.4 from a positive 1.3.
The Philly Fed also said the survey's future indicators showed improvement, with the diffusion index for future general activity climbing to 43.4 in November from 36.7 in October.
On Monday, the New York Federal Reserve released a separate report showing that regional manufacturing activity continued to contract in November.
The report said the index of New York manufacturing activity inched up to a negative 10.7 in November from a negative 11.4 in October. Economists had expected the index to climb to a negative 5.0.
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