U.S. Mid-Atlantic manufacturing sky-rockets to 16-month high

Manufacturing activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region grew at its strongest pace since April 2022 in August, according to a report released on Thursday, as new orders surged amidst robust consumer demand. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's monthly survey of goods producers released on Thursday showed the general business activity index leaped to 12.0 from -13.5 in July, increasing by the largest monthly margin since April 2021. The jump from a negative to positive reading revealed that factories entered a period of expansion after a year of uninterrupted contraction, as a flurry of consumer spending pushed the new order index to 32 in August up from negative 16 in July.