Philly Fed index jumps in February

(Sharecast News) - Factory sector activity in the mid-Atlantic region improved significantly in February, the results of a closely-followed survey revealed. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing sector gauge jumped from a reading of -10.6 in January to 5.2 for February.

Economists had penciled-in a reading of -8.0.

The improvement was driven by the sub-index for shipments which rose from -6.2 to 10.7.

In parallel, the sub-index for new orders improved from -17.9 to -5.2.

Price pressures intensified too, with the corresponding sub-index rising from 11.3 to reach 16.6.

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