US Economic Roundup - Empire Manufacturing falls in May. Weekly Jobless claims rise. Philly Fed report. | CountingPips Forex & Currency Trading Blog

May 15, 2008 - Forex Economic News

US Economic Roundup - Empire Manufacturing falls in May. Weekly Jobless claims rise. Philly Fed report.

New York manufacturing activity fell in May according to data released today by the New York Federal Reserve. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed that the general business index in New York fell below zero to a -3.2 point score. The business index score had rebounded in April by 23 points to produce a 0.6 point score after registering an all time low score of -22.2 in March. The new orders index dipped in May to a -0.5 score, the shipments index also fell to a 4.6 score and the unfilled orders index remained essentially unchanged at -4.4. Future outlook index levels were mixed as the future general business index and future prices paid increased for the month while future new orders, future shipments and future prices received all edged downward for the May index. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey is a monthly business assessment of New York State manufacturers produced by the New York Federal Reserve.

Philly Manufacturing Business Survey.

The Philadelphia Manufacturing Business Index released today by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank showed that its survey increased in May to beat market forecasts but was still in negative territory. The Philly general business diffusion index increased to -15.6 in May after April's score of -24 .9 and beat market forecasts which were expecting a -19.0 score. A negative score is considered a contraction in that business sector. The index has now been in negative territory for six consecutive months with February registering the lowest index score since 2001. Demand for new orders jumped for May with an increase from -18.8 to a -3.7 index reading. The current shipments index increased from -8.0 to 2.2, unfilled orders fell from -16.8 to -19.1, delivery times fell from 4.2 to -12.8 and the inventories index increased from -26.2 to -13.1. The current employment index showed a signifcant increase from -11.1 in April to -1.0 for May. The future outlook of manufacturing growth also increased signifcantly in May as the general activity index outlook on 6 months from now registered a 28.2 score after reading of 13.7 in April with 45 percent of firms surveyed expecting an expansion in economic activity in the next 6 months. The Philadelphia Manufacturing Business survey is conducted and published by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve and surveys manufacturers in the Third Reserve District on general business activity.

Weekly Jobless Claims rise.

U.S. new jobless claims increased for the week ending May 10th by 6,000 people to a seasonally adjusted total of 371,000 from an unrevised total of 365,000 claims the week before according to data released today by the U.S. Labor Department. A four week moving average of unemployment claims showed an decrease of 1,000 workers to a rate of 365,750 claims.

Workers continuing claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending May 3rd increased by 28,000 to 3,060,000, up from the week before which saw 3,032,000. A four week moving average of continuing claims increased 15,250 from last week to 3,017,000. Last week's moving average registered 3,001,750.

Tags: empire state manufacturing, philadelphia fed, survey, us jobless claims, employment

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