New York, NY, January 17--Growth at New York State factories slowed in January with a drop in inventories although new orders remained positive, the New York Federal Reserve said on Tuesday.
The N.Y. Fed's "Empire State" index showed overall conditions for manufacturers eased to 20.12 from a downwardly revised 26.28 in December. The median forecast in a Reuters survey of economists was 22.00.
The survey's index of inventories fell to -12.33 in January from -4.44 in December.
However, the new orders index was little changed this month at 27.19 from 27.20 in December.
The prices paid index eased to 46.58 from 46.67, while the prices received index jumped to 27.40 from 17.78 in December.
The number of employees index rose to 11.29 after dipping to 5.01 in December.
"Future indexes suggested that respondents are expecting activity to expand further and prices and employment to climb higher over the next six months," the New York Fed said in a statement.
