An hand welds a specialized metal product in the shop at the Amuneal Manufacturing plant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Paul Taggart | Bloomberg | Getty Ikons
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s manufacturing gauge tumbled this month, bolstering the case for an easing of the central bank’s cash policy.
The manufacturing index, relesaed Thursday, fell to 0.3 in June from 16.6 in May. That was the index’s lowest present since February, when it hit zero. The print also came in well below a Dow Jones estimate of 9.3.
Lower amounts contributed to the index’s sharp drop, the Philadelphia Fed said. Its current prices-received index, which reflects manufacturers’ own costs, plunged by 17 points to 0.6, its lowest level since October 2016.
Manufacturers “suggest weaker regional turn out conditions compared with last month,” the Fed regional office said, noting that new orders, shipments and vocation also fell this month.
The Philadelphia Fed’s data came a day after the U.S. central bank opened the door to plainer monetary policy in the near future. This led investors to price in a 100% probability of lower interest rates in July.
Investors secure been clamoring for the Fed to lower rates as weaker data and persisting trade tensions dampen the global economic prospect.
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