The Federal
Reserve Bank of Dallas announced on Monday its general business activity index
for manufacturing in Texas jumped to -9.7 in August from an unrevised -17.5 in the previous month. This was the lowest reading since January 2023 (-8.5) and
marked the 28th consecutive negative reading.
According to
the survey’s details, the production index, a key gauge of state manufacturing
conditions, climbed 2.9 points to 1.6 this month, pointing to a slight growth
in output from July. The new orders indicator surged
8.6 points to -4.2, pointing to a continued shrinkage
in demand. The measure of the growth rate of orders leapt 11.5 points to -5.1 but stayed in negative territory
for the fourth month in a row. Meanwhile, the employment measure declined 7.8
points to -0.7, indicating no change in employment
levels from July when the gauge hit a 10-month high. The shipments index soared
17.1 points
to +0.8, also coming in near zero.
On the price front, the
raw materials prices index rose 5.1 points to + 28.2,
the highest level in 22 months, while the finished goods prices index also increased 5.1 points to +8.5, the
highest level in three months.