Manufacturing activity in the New York region unexpectedly contracts in March

The report from the New York Federal Reserve showed on Monday that manufacturing activity in the New York region contracted in March.

According to the survey, NY Fed Empire State manufacturing index came in at -21.5 this month compared to an unrevised 12.9 in February, pointing to a decline in business activity in New York State. That was the lowest reading since 2009.

Economists had expected the index to come in at 4.4

Anything below zero signals contraction.

According to the report, the new orders index dropped 31.4 points to -9.3, pointing to a contraction in orders, and the shipments index decreased 20.6 points to -1.7 indicating that shipments were little changed. Meanwhile, delivery times lengthened slightly (at 2.2 in March, down 6.1 points from February), and inventories increased (at 5.8, down 7.1 points). Elsewhere, the index for number of employees fell 8.1 points to -1.5, indicating that employment levels were little changed over the month. On the price front, prices paid index edged down 0.5 points to 24.5, suggesting that input prices rose at the same pace as last month, while the prices received index fell 6.6 points to 10.1, pointing to a deceleration in selling price expansion.