New York manufacturing shows general improvement

Manufacturing activity rose modestly in New York in June, despite declines in most categories, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday. The general business index rebounded from a decline in May that followed three months of improvements, the Fed said. In June, the general business index for the Fed's New York District rose 9 points to 7.8. In an unusual twist, the general business index rose with 29 percent of respondents indicating conditions had gotten better in the past month and 22 percent indicating it had gotten worse. "Nevertheless, most other indicators in the survey fell," the Fed said. The new-orders index gave up six points to reach minus 6.7, while the shipments index lost 12 points to minus 11.8. The unfilled orders index gave up eight points to minus 14.5. In addition, the Fed said, "labor market conditions worsened." The index measuring the number of employees slipped to zero, while the index measuring number of hours worked gave up 10 points to minus 11.3. Also retreating in June was the business outlook for six months down the road, "suggesting that optimism about future conditions was weakening further."