New York State Business Activity Stabilizes
At the tail end of a tumultuous year New York’s manufacturing sector delivered some good news. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s monthly report on manufacturing business activity stabilized in the state with the headline general business conditions index climbing out of negative territory for the first time in four months, rising eight points to 1.5. The new orders and shipments indexes also turned positive, rising to 3.1 and 8.5, respectively. Still, signs of economic trouble remained. Labor market conditions are still weak, with the number of employees and average workweek indexes both at -10.9. The inventories index fell eleven points to -23.6, pointing to a marked decline in inventory levels. Although price indexes were lower, they remained positive, suggesting a slower pace of growth in both input prices and selling prices. Indexes for the six-month outlook conveyed somewhat less optimism about future conditions than in October.
