Philly Fed factory activity index crashes in Oct

[corporatemedia]

Source: Reuters

Philly Fed factory activity index crashes in Oct
Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:07am EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mid-Atlantic factory activity crashed in October, a survey showed on Thursday.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index slumped unexpectedly hard to -37.5 in October from 3.8 in September.

Wall Street economists had expected a reading of minus 10.0, according to a Reuters poll. Their 54 forecasts ranged from minus 25.0 to plus 5.0.

A reading below zero indicates contraction manufacturing in the region, which encompasses eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware and is as one of the first monthly indicators of the health of the U.S. manufacturing sector


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE49F5MC20081016