(Philadelphia Fed) The diffusion index gauging the current activity in the US plunged by 15 points in May to 2.6, the lowest in two years.
The share of firms that reported increases in current activity in May stood at 22%, against 20%, which reported declines. 57% of firms reported no change in activity.
Other parameters remained mixed, with the index for new orders gaining 4 points to an index of 22.1. The current shipments index jumped by 16 points to 35.2, its highest since October 2020.
Firms posted rising employment, although the current employment index went lower to 25.5, down by 16 points from the prior month.
Costs remained elevated, with the prices paid index sliding by 6 points from the almost 43-year high in April to 78.9. The current prices received gauge fell by 3 points to 51.7.
The level of business optimism remained subdued as the index gauging the future general activity declined to 2.5 from 8.2 in April. The reading was the lowest in 13 years.
SPY is down -0.26%, DXY is down -1.02%.
