WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday showed a significant acceleration in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in the month of January.
The Philly Fed said its index for current manufacturing activity in the region jumped to 17.0 in January from 9.1 in December, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to tick up to 10.0.
The much bigger than expected increase by the headline index reflected a substantial acceleration in new orders growth, as the new orders index surged up to 21.3 in January from 13.3 in December.
On the other hand, the shipments index edged down to 11.4 in January from 12.4 in December, indicating a modest slowdown in the pace of shipment growth.
Pointing to significantly slower job growth, the report also said the number of employees index tumbled to 9.6 in January from 19.1 in December.
The Philly Fed said both the unfilled orders and delivery times indexes were positive this month, suggesting higher unfilled orders and slower delivery times.
With regard to inflation, the prices paid index fell to 32.7 in January from 38.9 in December and the prices received index dropped to 24.8 from 29.0.
The report said firms are generally optimistic about future growth, with the diffusion index for future general activity inching up to 31.2 in January from 29.9 in December.
A separate report released by the New York Fed on Tuesday showed regional manufacturing activity grew at its slowest pace in over a year in January.
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. 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.
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