Empire State index crashes in April as Covid-19 batters eastern seaboard

Manufacturing in the state of New York and some of the surrounding areas was battered as the region was hit by the Covid-19 coronavirus, a closely-followed survey revealed.

Throughout 2019, factories in the region had largely been spared from the fallout of the US-China trade war, but now it was the opposite case, with the region having become the epicentre of the virus outbreak in the States.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's so-called Empire State manufacturing index tumbled from a reading of -21.5 for March to -78.2 in April, far surpassing the drop to -30.0 anticipated by economists.

In particular, a sub-index for new orders crashed to -66.3 from the prior month level of -9.3.

Another sub-index tracking employment meanwhile fell from -1.5 to -55.3.

The NY Fed is responsible for the second district of the US Federal Reserve System which includes the state of New York, the 12 northernmost counties of New Jersey, Fairfield County in Connecticut, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.