Philly Fed Index Pulls Back Off Five-Year High In September

(RTTNews) - The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released a report on Thursday showing a smaller-than-expected pullback by its reading on regional manufacturing activity in the month of September.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity fell to 37.8 in September after climbing to 47.4 in August, although a positive reading still indicates growth. Economists had expected the index to slump to 30.5

The pullback by the Philly Fed index came a month after it reached its highest level since hitting 48.8 in April 2021.

The decrease by the headline index came amid a steep drop by the numbers of employees index, which plunged to 11.8 in September from 27.9 in August.

The new orders index showed a much more modest decrease, edging down to 29.2 in September from 30.1 in August, while shipments index came in unchanged at 27.7.

Meanwhile, the report said the prices received index surged to 31.3 in September from 17.7 in August, reaching its highest level since April. The prices index also climbed to 48.6 in September from 40.9 in August.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for future general activity plummeted to 52.9 in September from 73.6 in August but noted firms continued to expect overall growth over the next six months.

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a separate report showing its reading on regional manufacturing activity fell by much more than expected in the month of September but still indicated growth.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index slumped to 7.6 in September from 20.6 in August. While a positive reading still indicates growth, economists had expected the index to show a more modest decrease to 14.1.

The much sharper-than-expected pullback by the index came a month after it jumped to its highest level in over four years.