Philly Fed manufacturing gauge edges past forecasts in October

Business conditions in the manufacturing sector in the US mid-Atlantic region edged lower in October, according to the results of one of the most widely-followed surveys.

The Federal Reserve bank of Philadelphia's factory sector gauge drifted down from a reading of 12.8 in September to 9.7 for October.

Economists had forecast a larger decline to 5.0.

However, some key subindices contained in the same report recorded large improvements.

A sub-index tracking new orders improved from a reading of 1.4 to 16.3, while another linked to the number of staff at companies edged up from a reading of -5.3 too -4.0.

Another gauge for the length of the average work-week gained from -11.7 to -2.2.

Also noteworthy, the sub-index measuring the prices paid by companies fell back from 20.6 to 7.0.