The Philly Fed's Business Activity Index signaled that the manufacturing sector in the mid-Atlantic regions is still contracting, albeit at a slightly slower pace.The survey rose from -24.4 in April to -22.6 in May, just shy of the consensus and the best reading since September. At least the pace of the recession isn't getting worse as evidenced recent data, but there's little out there that says the economy has started to grow again.
The six-month outlook among businesses is definitely brighter. The future general activity index remained positive for the fifth consecutive month and increased 11 points, from 36.2 in April to 47.5. The index has now increased 33 points in the past two months. We should be seeing an upturn later in the year. Zero marks the line between expansion and contraction.
We did get some good news from the Leading Index, which jumped 1.0% in April. This is the first rise in seven months. The numbers pretty much matched, but given that we know the components that make up the indicator of future activity, the number is generally easy to forecast by economists, and most analysts don't read much into the report. Still, it's good to see a positive number.
Today's look at jobless claims and comments by Greenspan are available at Examiner.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment