US Empire State index edges higher in October

Factory sector activity in the jurisdiction of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York strengthened a tad last month, the results of a closely-followed survey revealed.

The so-called 'Empire State' index rose from a print of 2.0 for September to 4.0 in October, beating economists' forecasts for a reading of 0.0.

However, the key sub-index tracking new orders was unchanged versus the prior month at a level of 3.5.

A gauge linked to the prices paid by companies meanwhile dropped from 29.4 to 23.1 and that for staff levels from 9.7 to 7.6.

According to some reports, the latest results of the New York Fed manufacturing sector survey had already been published by mistake the day before.