Philly Fed index slips by more than forecast in November
Activity in the US mid-Atlantic factory sector cooled slightly more than expected in November, the results of a widely-followed survey revealed, although a key sub-index tied to the pace of new orders continued to push higher.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing sector gauge retreated from a reading of 27.9 for October to 22.7 in November.
That was less than the 24.0 point reading economists had forecast.
However, the new orders sub-index, one of the lead indicators included in the survey, rose from 19.6 to 21.4.
Another key sub-index, tracking prices paid by corporations, increased from a reading of 38.1 to 39.0.
On the downside, labour demand worsened, with the sub-index linked to the number of employees retreating from 30.6 to 22.6 while that measuring the length of the average employee workweek fell from 19.4 to 13.7.