The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index improved to -10 in December from -14 in November, slightly below expectations of an increase to -9. Shipments and new orders both saw improvements in their deteriorations at -11 (up from -12) and -11 (up from -19). Capacity utilization and order backlogs both also saw smaller declines.

The employment decline eased for the third straight month, with the Number of Employees index up 2 pts to -8. Wage growth remained solid with an index reading of 16.

The prices indexes saw mixed trends. Prices Paid was 2.86% YoY, accelerating from 2.48% YoY with expectations much higher at 3.78% YoY, likely due to the firms now expecting tariffs. Prices Received, however, eased to 1.71% YoY, decelerating from 2.07% YoY. Selling price expectations were also on the rise to 2.91% YoY.