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The so-called Philly Fed index is out, showing an improvement for January and above expectations. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve released its manufacturing data showing that growth continued on its Business Outlook Survey. The index has now been positive for eight consecutive months.

With a January reading of 9.4, the index beat the Bloomberg and Dow Jones consensus estimates of 8.7. December’s survey was also revised down to 6.4 from a prior figure of 7.0 for the month. The broadest indicators for general activity, new orders, shipments and employment were positive, which were represented as a continued moderate growth.

Future activity indicators also moderated but continue to suggest general optimism about growth over the next six months. Some of the key summaries are as follows:

• The current shipments and new orders indexes remained positive but moved in opposite directions compared with December.
• The demand for manufactured goods, as measured by the current new orders index, decreased from a revised reading of 12.9 to 5.1 this month.
• Shipments continued to expand, and its index edged slightly higher to a reading of 12.1.
• Labor market indicators showed some improvement this month. Some 23% of the firms reported increases in employment in January, which is slightly higher than the 18% that reported increased employment last month.
• The prices paid index increased two points to 18.7, but price increases were less widespread.

A table has been provided below.