Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in the month of January, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia revealed in a report on Thursday.
The Philly Fed said its index for current manufacturing activity in the region rose to 23.6 in January from a revised 19.7 in December, with a positive reading indicating growth.
The increase came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to drop to 16.0 from the 21.5 originally reported for the previous month.
With the unexpected increase, the Philly Fed index reached its highest level since climbing to 34.8 in November of 2014.
An acceleration in the rate of growth in new orders contributed to the unexpected increase by the headline index, with the new orders index jumping to a two-year high of 26.0 in January from 14.9 in December.
The number of employees index also surged up 12.8 to January from 3.6 in December, indicating a faster rate of job growth.
While the shipments index edged down to 20.5 in January from 21.7 in December, the Philly Fed noted the index remained at a high reading.
The Philly Fed also said price increases were more widespread, as the prices received index spiked to 26.8 in January from 8.0 in December and the prices paid index rose to 32.5 from 28.1.
Looking ahead, the bank said manufacturers have generally grown more optimistic in their forecasts over the past two months.
The diffusion index for future general activity climbed to 56.6 in January from 48.7 in December, reaching its highest level since August of 2014.
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