Richmond Fed composite manufacturing index for September 5.0 versus -7.0 last month

<ul><li><a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/us-august-richmond-fed-composite-index-7-vs-9-prior-20230822/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Prior month</a> -7.0</li><li>Richmond Fed composite manufacturing index 5.0 versus -7 last month. The gain breaks a string of 17 consecutive declines.</li><li>Services index 4 verses 4 last month</li><li>Shipments 7 versus -5 last month</li><li>Employment 7 versus -3 last month</li><li>Wages 23 versus 22 last month</li><li>Availability of skills needed -10 versus -10 last month</li><li>Prices paid 4.06 versus 3.17 last month</li><li>Prices received 3.06 versus 3.11 last month</li></ul><p>A summary of the current conditions and individual components along with the forward-looking expectations indices and its individual components for the Richmond Fed area shows:</p><p>From the Richmond Fed: </p><blockquote>In September, manufacturing activity in the Fifth District showed improvement, as reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index rose from −7 in August to 5 in September, with positive shifts in its three component indexes: shipments, new orders, and employment. This marked the first positive reading for the index since spring 2022. </blockquote><blockquote>However, firms' optimism about local business conditions remained tepid, with the index dropping slightly to 0 in September. Expectations for future local business conditions also decreased but stayed positive. Despite a significant rise in the orders backlogs index for September, many firms reported ongoing declines in backlogs and vendor lead time. Two out of three spending indexes saw an increase. Price growth rates for items purchased went up slightly in September, while those for items sold decreased a bit. Companies anticipate these rates to stabilize in the upcoming year</blockquote>

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.