Philly Fed index unexpectedly jumps higher in December
Manufacturing conditions in the Philadelphia region unexpectedly improved in December, according to a survey released on Thursday.
The index for current manufacturing activity in the region rose to 26.2 from 22.7 the month before, beating expectations for a drop to 21.5.
Both the current new orders and shipments indices also improved this month, increasing 8 points and 2 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, the diffusion index for future general activity increased to 53.5 this month from 50.1. The indices for futures new orders and shipments also improved, rising three points, but the index for future employment fell eight points.
Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "The Philly data - we look more at the weighted sub-indexes rather than the headline sentiment number - undershot relative to the national ISM in November, so we're inclined to see this rebound as mean-reversion rather than a signal of incremental strength in manufacturing. Still, we're happy to see more evidence that the recovery in the sector continues after two years of weakness triggered by the collapse in oil sector capex. The three-month high in new orders is especially welcome.
"Overall, we think the data are consistent with little change in the December ISM, following the trivial dip to a still-strong 58.2 in November."