New York manufacturing activity grew at its slowest pace in over a year in the month of January, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Tuesday.
The New York Fed said its general business conditions index slumped to 3.9 in January after tumbling to a revised 11.5 in December.
A positive reading still indicates growth, although economists had expected the index to show a much more modest decrease to 10.8.
With the much bigger than expected decrease, the New York Fed said the index dropped to its lowest level in well over a year.
Michael Pearce, Senior U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, said the steep drop by the New York manufacturing index suggests the decrease by the Institute for Supply Management's national manufacturing index in December won't be reversed in January.
The continued decrease by the headline index was partly due to notably slower new orders growth, as the new orders index plunged to 3.5 in January from 13.4 in December.
The shipments index also fell to 17.9 in January from 20.3 in December, indicating a modest slowdown in the pace of shipment growth.
The report also showed a significant slowdown in the pace of job growth, with the number of employees index plummeting to 7.4 in January from 17.5 in December.
With regard to inflation, the prices paid index dropped to 35.9 in January from 39.7 in December, while the prices received index inched up to 13.1 from 12.8.
The New York Fed also said firms were less optimistic about the six-month outlook than in recent months, as the index for future business conditions tumbled to 17.8 in January from 30.6 in December.
On Thursday, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its report on regional manufacturing activity in January. The Philly Fed Index is expected to inch up to 10.0 in January from 9.4 in December.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Forex News
December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.