Philly Fed index jumps in February as new orders strengthen

Factory sector activity in the US mid-Atlantic region roared back to life in February, according to the results of one of the mostly closely-followed surveys, wrong-footing analysts.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing sector gauge jumped from a reading of 17.0 points for January to 36.7 in February.

Economists had been anticipating a decrease to 10.0.

The improvement went beyond the headline index, which sometimes diverges from the various subindices.

In particular, a sub-index for new orders shot up from the prior month level of 18.2 to 33.6.

Hiring did slow however, with the sub-index tracking employment retreating from a reading of 19.3 to 9.8, although a separate gauge linked to the length of the average workweek increasing from 5.2 to 10.3.