Details of the May 2015 US Philly Fed business optimism index data report 21 May 2015

  • Prior 7.5
  • Employment 6.7 vs 11.5 prior
  • New orders 4.0 vs 0.7 prior
  • Prices paid -14.2 vs -7.5 prior
  • Capex 16.8 vs 15.8 prior

Optimism drops as does employment but new orders jump and investment intentions tick up. A mixed report but the rise in new orders probably swings into the positive

Reading through the report maybe the new orders numbers aren't as positive as less than one third of firms reported higher new orders than last month. Respondents also noted a weakening in labour market conditions compared to April

6m expectations fell a touch to 33.9 from 35.5 but this is still below the levels seen through 2014

On the wages front, employers are mostly being picky on where they raise pay or not raising pay at all

Philly firms wages

Philly fed index