Surge in Philly Fed Reading Contradicts Empire State Report

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Business Outlook Survey jumped from a reading of 9.0 in March to 16.6 in April. That was the strongest reading since last September, and it beat a consensus estimate of 10.0. The index has now increased for two consecutive months, following a weather-influenced negative reading in February. Recall that any reading above zero indicates expansion.

The new-orders component of the report rose to 14.8 in April from 5.7 in March. Shipments increased all the way to 22.7 from 5.7 in the previous month. And inventories improved to −1.5 in April from a −6.8.

Employment was stronger as well. The reading on number of employees rose from 1.7 in March to 6.9, and the average employee workweek rose to 5.0 in April from 3.1.

The Philly Fed reading compares to the Empire State index, which unexpectedly dropped to 1.3 in April from 5.6 in March. And the most recently reported ISM report on the health of the manufacturing sector rose to 53.7 in March from 53.2 in February.

SEE ALSO: The 10 Fastest Rising Food Prices

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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