Manufacturing in New York Area Cools as Sales, Hiring Slow
By Ben Schenkel - Oct 15, 2013
Manufacturing in the New York region grew at a slower pace than projected in October as sales and hiring cooled.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index fell to 1.5, a five-month low, from 6.3 in September. Positive readings signal expansion in New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a reading of 7.
The gauge dropped even as orders climbed to the highest level in seven months, indicating production will probably pick up next month. The budget and debt-ceiling standoff in Washington may have shaken confidence within manufacturing, which makes up about 12 percent of the economy.
“A lot of manufacturers’ uncertainty can be blamed on the fiscal brinkmanship, rather than a deterioration in fundamentals,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, who projected the index would drop to 1. “The improvement in new orders is reason for optimism.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-15/manufacturing-in-new-york-area-cools-as-sales-hiring-slow.html