New York Manufacturing Expands at Slowest Pace in Three Months

(Bloomberg) -- Manufacturing in New York expanded in November at the slowest pace in three months as orders and shipments cooled, indicating uneven growth for factories in the Empire State.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general business conditions index decreased to 6.3 from a reading of 10.5 a month earlier, a report out Monday showed. Readings above zero indicates expansion, and the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a reading of 13.5.

The Empire State report is the first of several regional Fed manufacturing indexes to be released this month.

Nearly 31% of respondents said that business conditions are improving, while 24.4% said activity was declining. The bank’s gauge of new orders decreased to 3.7 from 12.3 and the shipments index dropped a five-month low of 6.3 from 17.8.

At the same time, a measure of the number of employees climbed to 9.4 in November, the highest reading this year, from 7.2 a month earlier.

Prices paid for materials increased, while a gauge of prices received advanced to the highest level since February.

Optimism about economic conditions over the next six months rose among New York manufacturers. The regional Fed bank’s future index increased to 33.9 from 32.8.

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