US Empire State manufacturing general business conditions index rose 10.1 in April, up from 3.7 and beat expectation of 8. 33% of respondents reported improved conditions, 23% said worsened. New orders index rose 5pts to 7.5. Shipments rose 1pts to 8.6. However, index for future business conditions dropped a massive -17 pts to 12.4, lowest in more than three years.
New York Fed noted in the release that growth picked up somewhat but remained fairly subdued. New orders rose slightly, and shipments continued to grow modestly. Delivery times and inventories both increased. Labor market indicators pointed to ongoing employment gains and a small increase in hours worked. The prices paid and prices received indexes moved lower, pointing to a slowing in both input price increases and selling price increases. Indexes assessing the six month outlook suggested that firms were much less optimistic about future business conditions than last month.
