Surveys gauging manufacturing growth or contraction in Empire State. (REUTERS)
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey, the New York Federal Reserve’s gauge of activity in the region, plummeted in May to -9.02, down from 9.56 in April. The nineteen point decline marks a return to familiar contraction territory, where the regional index–like its companions–has remained for most of the year.
The results missed the median forecast. Wall Street had anticipated a smaller decline in the reading, one which still remained positive at 6.50. Readings above 0 point to expansion, while those below indicate contraction.
While the six-month outlook was only somewhat less optimistic in May than it was in April, and the capital spending index plummeted to 3.1, its lowest reading in more than two years.
