Philly Fed: Continued Sharp Decline

Bottom Line: Countering the surprising strength in the New York Fed survey, the Philadelphia Fed's Manufacturing survey showed another sharp drop in activity. However, the details weren't quite as bad as the headline. New orders and shipments contracted at a slower pace, and inventories fell sharply. Prices paid rose only slightly, the slowest pace of gains in over two years. Employment was steady after declining in March. Overall, manufacturing remains weak and was continuing to decline in the first half of April. However, given the pockets of strength like we saw in the NY survey, there are hints of bottoming.

The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index FELL -8.1 points to -31.3, BELOW the 3-Month average of -26.27, BELOW the 6-Month average of -19.48, and -44.4 BELOW the year-ago level.  On an ISM-weighted basis the index ROSE 7.4 points to -14.2, BELOW the 3-Month average of -12.4, BELOW the 6-Month average of -7.98, and -34.1 BELOW the year-ago level.