NY Fed: Empire State Manufacturing Index improves to 25 in May from 20.1 in April

"Business activity continued to grow strongly in New York State, according to firms responding to the June 2018 Empire State Manufacturing Survey," the Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced on Friday. 

Key quotes

• The headline general business conditions index climbed five points to 25.0, indicating a faster pace of growth than in May.
• Both the new orders index and the shipments index showed ongoing solid growth, with the former rising five points to 21.3 and the latter moving up four points to 23.5.
• Labor market indicators pointed to a substantial increase in employment and longer workweeks.
• The prices paid index remained close to last month’s multiyear high, indicating continued significant input price increases, and the prices received index remained elevated.
• Looking ahead, firms were more optimistic about the six-month outlook than they were last month.