The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index jumped 15 points to re-enter positive territory at 6.0 in June.
The results of the June survey indicate that business activity “expanded modestly” for New York manufacturers, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in a news release.
A positive reading on the index indicates expansion or growth in the sector, while a negative reading indicates a decline in manufacturing activity.
The positive result was unexpected as economists were forecasting a negative index reading, ranging from -3.5 to -4 to -5, in June, according to reports from Bloomberg, Reuters, and MarketWatch.com, respectively.
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey found 28 percent of respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 22 percent said that conditions had worsened, according to the New York Fed.
The new-orders index and the shipments index rose from negative values to 10.9 and 9.3, respectively, a sign that orders and shipments were “increasing” after last month’s decline.
Firms were “more optimistic” about the six-month outlook this month, and capital spending plans “picked up.”
The New York Fed distributes the Empire State Manufacturing Survey on the first day of each month to the same pool of about 200 manufacturing executives in New York. On average, about 100 executives return responses.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com