Philly Fed index slips a tad more than anticipated in October
Factory sector activity in the US mid-Atlantic region continued to hum along at a steady pace in October, the results of a closely-followed survey showed.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing sector index slipped from a reading of 12.0 in September to 5.6 for October.
That was a tad worse than the drop to 7.1 anticipated by economists.
However, some of the key sub-indices appeared to still be pointing to solid levels of activity, including that for new orders, which rose from 24.8 to 26.2.
Another sub-index for staff levels at companies meanwhile jumped from 15.8 to 32.9, while the gauge tracking the prices paid by firms retreated from 33.0 to 16.8.
A sub-index linked to inventory levels also declined substantially, from 21.8 to 6.6.
"The average level of the five Philly subindexes which also comprise the national ISM manufacturing index nudged down only slightly; new orders rose to a 17-month high," said Pantheon Macroeconomics's chief economist, Ian Shepherdson.
"As a result, the Philly numbers continue to point to a much higher ISM, which won’t happen as long as the trade war persists. The Philly Fed region exports much less than the U.S. as a whole, and China accounts for a relatively small share of those exports, so it is less exposed to the trade war. It will overstate the ISM for the foreseeable future."