Philly Fed manufacturing index edges past forecasts at the start of 2022
Activity in the us mid-Atlantic region picked up the pace last month with new orders, shipments and delivery times both improving.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing sector index rose from a reading of 15.4 for December to 23.2 in January.
Economists had penciled-in a reading of 23.0.
The sub-index tracking new orders rose from a reading of 13.7 to 17.9, while that for shipments gained from 15.3 to 20.8 and that for delivery times slipped from 31.4 to 25.2.
A decline in the sub-index for delivery times reflects an acceleration.
Nevertheless, a gauge of the prices paid by firms rose from 66.1 to 72.5.
"The uptick in the Philly Fed index is a pleasant surprise after the plunge in the Empire State index [...] The details are mixed, with orders and shipments improving while the employment index dipped," Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics said.
"On the supply side, unfilled orders rebounded but failed to reverse all the December drop, while the delivery times index, which is less volatile, fell to a four-month low. Supply-chain pressures remain intense, but they appear not to be worsening further."