Richmond Fed: June Manufacturing Index Rises to 8 From -2 in May

By Cynthia Lin

Manufacturers in the central Atlantic region say activity is expanding this month for the first time since March, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said Tuesday.

The Richmond Fed's manufacturing current business conditions jumped back into positive territory, to 8 in June from -2 in May. It is the first positive reading since March and the highest reading since November 2012. Numbers above zero indicate expanding activity.

Factories across the U.S. continue to stage a choppy recovery. Similar reports from other regional Fed banks have come in broadly upbeat this month, with business-activity indexes in Philadelphia and Dallas each climbing back into positive territory. The New York index also improved, though underlying components remained weak.

Subindexes in the Richmond report showed widespread improvement this month.

The new orders index rose to 9 from -10 in May. The shipment index this month rose to 11 from 8 in May.

Demand for labor improved as well. The employment index increased to 4, after dropping to -3 in last month. The workweek index rose to 12, from -6, while the wage index doubled to 12.

The current prices paid index inched up to 1.24, from 1.0 in May, while the prices received index rose to 0.64 from 0.24.

Manufacturers appear optimistic looking out over the next six months.

The shipments-expectations index ticked up to 23 from 22 last month, although the orders-expectations index fell back to 23 from 28. The employee expectations rose to 13 from 4 in May and after plunging to 0 in April.

On the service side, continued to improve. The Richmond survey's revenue index rose to 15, adding to the jump to 11 in May.

The Richmond Fed survey covers businesses in Washington D.C., Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and most of West Virginia.

Write to Cynthia Lin at cynthia.lin@dowjones.com.

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
  06-25-131037ET
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