Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index rebounds in January
Getty ImagesNew factory orders hit a six-month high in January, the Philly Fed said.
The numbers: The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index rose to a seasonally adjusted reading of 17 from a two-year low of 9.1 in the prior month.
Any reading above zero indicates improving conditions. Economists polled by EconoDay expected a 10 reading.
What happened: Below the headline, the new orders index rose 8 points to 21.3, its highest reading in six months. The shipments index fell 1 point to 11.4.
Big picture: Mixed readings on regional manufacturing at the start of the year. The Empire State factory index, released Monday, slumped to 3.9 in January, the lowest reading since May 2017. So the Philly Fed index may remove some concerns the first quarter economic slowdown may be sharper than forecast.
Although the Philadelphia Fed's Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey for Jan produced a General Business Conditions Index (17.0) that was well above consensus (10.0), the Employment index (9.6) fell to its lowest level in 24 mos, and the shipments index to the lowest in 28 mos. pic.twitter.com/dSEZFag9YF
— Jeoff Hall (@JeoffHall) January 17, 2019What are they saying: " The recent lower trend in sentiment indexes suggests that manufacturing activity still continues to grow, but at a markedly slower pace than the last couple of years," said Mickey Levy, chief economist for the Americas and Asia for Berenberg Capital Markets.
Market reaction: Yields on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.00% moved higher after the Philly Fed index was released.
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