The Philadelphia Fed Index didn't live up to expectations. A reading of -7.5 was worse than the consensus estimate of -4.8 and down from the June reading of -2.2. The dividing line for this report between expansion and contraction is zero.
Strikingly, the six-month outlook for general business activity dipped to 51.9 from 60.1 in June. The July reading is still comfortably above the 37.7 six-month average, yet the pullback speaks to the increasing reservations about the pace of recovery in the face of a continued rise in unemployment.
Looking at the changes from June through July, we see longer work weeks (due to less employees), higher prices paid / lower prices received, and an increase in new orders (but less filled and shipped).
Source: Philly Fed
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