Highlights of the December 2019 Richmond Fed:
- Prior was -1
- New orders -13 vs -3 prior
- Employment +7 vs +5 prior
- Avg workweek -15 vs +3
- Wages +29 vs +24 prior
- Shipments -6 vs -2 prior
- Order backlog -11 vs -11 prior
The Philly Fed was soft last week and this underscores that rate cuts haven't altered the state of play in the struggling manufacturing sector. Perhaps the US-China trade truce will lead to some fresh activity but we might just be skidding along the bottom for the foreseeable future.
