WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released a report on Thursday showing manufacturing activity in the region unexpectedly expanded overall in the month of July.
The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity surged to a positive 15.9 in July from a negative 4.0 in June, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to rise to a negative 1.0.
With the much bigger than expected jump, the diffusion index for current general activity reached its highest level since hitting a positive 18.1 in February.
The spike by the headline index came amid sharp increases by the new orders and shipments indexes, which also reached their highest readings since February.
The new orders index soared to 18.4 in July from 2.3 in June, while the shipments index shot up to 23.7 in July from 8.3 in June.
The number of employees index also surged to a positive 10.3 in July from a negative 9.8 in June, indicating a return to job growth.
The report also said the prices index jumped to 58.8 in July from 41.4 in June, while the prices received index climbed to 34.8 in July from 29.5 in June.
Looking ahead, Philly Fed said the future activity indicators suggest that the firms continue to expect growth over the next six months.
The report said the diffusion index for future general activity ticked up to 21.5 in July after plunging to 18.3 in June.
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