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The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its
business activity index fell to 21.9 from 30.7 in June. That was
well below economists' expectations for a reading of 28.0,
according to a Reuters poll.
Any reading above zero indicates expansion in the region's
manufacturing. The survey covers factories in eastern
Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.
It is seen as one of the first monthly indicators of the health
of U.S. manufacturing leading up to the national report by the
Institute for Supply Management, next due out August 2.
Even though U.S. factory orders rebounded sharply in May,
factories are still struggling to keep up with demand as the
COVID-19 pandemic shattered supply chains and rattled the global
shipping industry. Nationwide, manufacturing output at U.S.
factories fell in June.
In March, the Philly Fed's factory activity gauge hit its
highest level since 1973.
The Philly Fed employment index decreased to 29.2 from 30.7 in
June.
Additionally, the price paid index fell sharply to 69.7 in July
from 80.7 in the month prior, after reaching a 42-year high in
June. While this marked the index's first decline in three
months, it still remains at a historically elevated level.
In addition, the bank's six-month outlook index, a gauge of
future business activity, tumbled to 48.6 in July from 69.2 the
previous month, its lowest reading since February. It was also
the largest drop in a year.
(Reporting by Evan Sully; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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