Manufacturing activity in the New York region expanded in January to the highest level in more than a year, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Jan. 15.
The "Empire State Index," generally the first economic indicator in a given month, increased to a 12.5 reading, the highest level since May 2012, from 2.5 in December, the regional Fed said.
Readings greater than zero show expansion, and those less than zero indicate contraction.
The new order index increased 13 points from negative territory to 11, a two-year high.
"This is the first signal in terms of manufacturing confidence for January and shows steady optimism in manufacturing activity that is consistent with the modest level of manufacturing output we have seen lately," Bricklin Dwyer, an economist at BNP Paribas, said in a note to clients, the Associated Press reported.
