February Empire: Modestly Positive

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The February Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicates continued modest expansion in manufacturing activity in New York State. The headline general business conditions index remained in modestly positive territory with a diffusion index of 7.1 compared to the 7.7 registered in January. The unfilled orders index showed solid improvement, moving from -8.2 in January to 9.1 in February, while the employment and average workweek diffusion indexes also moved from negative to positive m/m. Outlook indexes also generally improved, with the general business conditions six-month forward index increasing to 34.7 from the prior month’s 30.3. The forward capex and employment indexes also posted gains.

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