Fed's 10th District, Kansas City, says business is slow

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KANSAS CITY, Kan., April 25 (UPI) -- Manufacturing in the southern central U.S. states slipped modestly in April, the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank said Thursday.

The manufacturing index for the Fed's 10th District, which includes Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and parts of Missouri and New Mexico, slipped at the same pace in April as it did in March with the composite index coming in at minus 5 for both months.

The volume of new orders for the month was unchanged for the second consecutive month with the index for orders holding at zero. The production index rose slightly, climbing from minus 1 to positive 1.

The number of employees index showed a decline but not as sharp a drop as in March, the index rising from minus 15 to minus 3. The index for number of hours worked was close to steady, rising from minus 8 to minus 7.

The central bank for the 10th Federal Reserve District said the new orders, production, shipments and backlog of orders were all lower than the April 2012.

"Europe looks bad and getting worse. U.S. economic activity seems to be slowing. We are retrenching," the report said using a quote taken from one of the monthly survey's respondents.

"We are starting to see the end of the natural gas boom. We expect a downturn in coming months," another respondent said.