Breaking news.. The manufacturing index for the state of Philadelphia defies expectations and experiences a sharp contraction in December.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released on Thursday the manufacturing index data for the state for the month of December, which came in extremely negative and lower than market expectations.
According to the data, the Philadelphia manufacturing index recorded a contraction of 16.4 points in December, which was contrary to market expectations that predicted a growth of 2.9 points. The index had recorded a contraction of 5.5 points in November.
This index is based on conducting a survey of manufacturers in the state of Philadelphia to assess the general conditions of companies and businesses, as companies are quickly affected by the economic situation and market conditions within the United States.
Thus, it measures any change in the situation of companies and is considered one of the indicators of the economic activity in the upcoming period in the United States, reflecting on the trading of the US dollar, especially as it coincides with data on American unemployment claims.
It is noteworthy that if the index reading is above the zero level, it reflects an improvement in manufacturing conditions in the state of Philadelphia. Conversely, if it comes in below zero, it indicates poor conditions. It is also worth mentioning that the data for this survey is collected from about 250 manufacturers in Philadelphia.