Philly Fed: Contraction But Hints of Bottoming

Bottom Line: The Philadelphia Fed's Manufacturing survey was lower than expected, firmly in contraction territory for the 13th month in the last 14. The details, including current new orders and shipments, were as weak as the headline. Input price pressures decelerated slightly, but prices received rose. Employment was slightly lower. On the plus side, the index of expected future activity jumped sharply, led by expectations for stronger new orders. Overall, manufacturing in the mid-Atltantic region remained in contraction, but there were signs of hope. While not offering the clear signs of a bottoming as we saw in the New York Fed manufacturing report, there were still hints that activity in the Philly region could be bottoming.The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index was nearly unchanged,  0.2 points to -13.5, BELOW the 3-Month average of -12.53, ABOVE the 6-Month average of -19.4 but -6.3 ABOVE the year-ago level.  On an ISM-weighted basis the index FELL -6.4 points  to -10.1, BELOW the 3-Month average of -6.7, BELOW the 6-Month average of -9.55 and -10.5 BELOW the year-ago level.