The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index rebounded to -4 (vs expectations of -8) in January, up from -10 in December. Shipments and new orders both declined at slower rates, up 2 pts to -9 and up 7 pts to -4 respectively. Similarly, the declines in order backlogs and capacity utilization eased as well. Employment flipped from a moderate contraction at -8 to a slight expansion at 3. Expectations for shipments and new orders were both strong, above 30, and for employment was solid at 12.

Price trends indicated that inflation had cooled in January, with Prices Paid at 2.37% YoY (down from 2.86% YoY) and Prices Received at 1.21% YoY (down from 1.71% YoY). However, expectations point to faster price growth in the next year with the former at 4.08% (up from 3.78%) and the latter at 3.06% (up from 2.91%).