Philly Fed Manufacturing Index Tanks in May

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Manufacturing activity in the Third Federal Reserve District has fallen sharply according to the May Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The top line general business activity index fell into negative territory, declining to -0.4 in May compared to +26.7 in April. New orders and shipments also plunged m/m, with the new orders index falling from +33 in April to -1.7 in May, and shipments index declining to +4.9 from +34 in the prior month. The employee count index moved slightly higher m/m, but remained in negative territory at -2.8, while average workweek fell to +1.2 from +7.7. Despite the current gloom, the six-month forward expectations indexes generally improved, with the general business conditions forward index increasing to +53.2 from +40.8 in April. The new orders and shipments forward indexes also improved m/m. On the downside, the employment forward indexes fell, with both the employee count and average workweek expectations indexes moving lower m/m.   

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