The Federal
Reserve Bank of Dallas announced on Monday its general business activity index
for manufacturing in Texas rose to -3.0 in September from an unrevised -9.0 in the previous month. This was the 30th consecutive
negative reading, which, however, represented the softest drop in activity in the sequence.
Economists had predicted
the indicator to improve to -1.0.
According to
the survey’s details, the production index, a key gauge of state manufacturing
conditions, soared 17.8 points to 14.6 this month, pointing to the strongest
increase in output since May 2022. The new orders indicator jumped 1.5 points to -3.7, its highest
level in four months but remained in negative territory indicative of
worsening demand. Meanwhile, the measure of the growth rate of orders fell 3.1 points
to -11.7, staying in
negative territory for the sixth month in a row. The employment measure declined 8.0 points to -5.1, returning to contraction territory after a modest growth in the previous month. Elsewhere, the shipments index surged 8.5
points to +1.5, returning into positive territory. On the price front, the
raw materials prices index increased 2.8 points to +29.3, the highest level
in 12 months, while the finished goods prices
index rose 2.2 points to +19.7.