MW; Philly manufacturing activity picks up in Dec.
By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region continued to improve in December, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported Thursday. The Philly Fed diffusion index rose to 10.3 in December from 3.6 in November. This is the highest level since April. Readings above zero indicate expansion. The increase was larger than expected. Economists were expecting the index to improve to 5.0. The details of the report were generally stronger ex except for employment data. The new orders index rose to 9.7 from 1.3, while the shipments index fell to 6.7 from 7.3. The index for number of employees slipped to 10.7 in December from 12.0 in the prior month. The average workweek dropped to 2.5 from 11.0.
