NEW YORK, March 15 (UPI) -- The New York Federal Reserve said its general business conditions index improved slightly in March for the third consecutive month.
The manufacturing index for the state of New York, based on a survey taken the first two weeks of each month, rose two points to 17.5, the highest reading since June, the Fed said in a report released Tuesday.
The improvement was smaller than a month ago, when the index rose 3.5 points.
The new orders index lost six points, dropping from 11.80 to 5.81. The shipments index fell almost 10 points, from 11.31 to 1.62.
Indexes for prices paid and received, unfilled orders and employment all rose, the Fed said.
The future general business index held steady at 49.4 with 55 percent of the respondents indicating they expected business conditions to improve in the next six months. Only 5 percent indicated they expect conditions to grow worse in the next six months, the Fed said.
