Empire Index Signals Improvement for 7th Month

"The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that conditions for New York manufacturers improved for a seventh consecutive month in February and at a relatively rapid pace. The general business conditions index for current conditions climbed 9 points, to 24.9 from 15.9 in January (see chart). The new orders index fell, though it remained positive, and the shipments index inched downward as well. The inventories index rose sharply, to 0.0, its highest reading in considerably more than a year.

Future indexes suggested that manufacturers in New York State were expecting conditions to improve further in the months ahead. The future general business conditions index was slightly lower than last month, but remained at a relatively high level of 52.8, with 60% of respondents expecting conditions to improve over the next six months (see chart)."