2019.07.1809:31:00UTC+00Philadelphia Manufacturing Shows Substantial Reacceleration In July

After reporting nearly stagnant Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity in the previous month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released a report on Thursday showing its reading on regional manufacturing activity jumped much more than expected in the month of July.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity surged up to 21.8 in July after tumbling to 0.3 in June, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to rise to 5.0.

The substantial rebound by the headline index came as the new orders index jumped to 18.9 in July from 8.3 in June and the shipments index spiked to 24.9 from 16.6.

The number of employees index also shot up to 30.0 in July from 15.4 in June, reaching its highest level since October of 2017.

The report said the prices paid index also rose to 16.1 in July from 12.9 in June, while the prices received index climbed to 9.5 from 0.6.

Looking ahead, the Philly Fed said most of the survey's future activity indexes also increased, suggesting improved optimism about growth for the next six months.

The diffusion index for future general activity spiked to 38.0 in July from 21.4 in June, hitting its highest reading since May of 2018.