Philadelphia Manufacturing Index Slows

Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region slowed in May, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

The area’s factory index fell to a reading of 3.9 from a reading of 18.5 in April. Readings greater than zero indicate expansion.

The reading was well below economists’s forecasts of 20, Bloomberg reported.

The Philadelphia Fed surveys about 100 manufacturers for the index in eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and southern New Jersey.