The Empire State Manufacturing Survey’s General Business Conditions index rose 21.5 pts to 5.5 in July, rebounding from -16.0 in June and marking the first positive reading since March.

• New Orders rose 16.2 pts to 2.0 (from -14.2), returning to expansion territory.
• Shipments jumped 18.7 pts to 11.5 (from -7.2), the strongest reading since early 2024.
• The share of firms reporting higher General Business Conditions more than doubled to 32.4% (from 16.9%).
• Despite the improvement, only modest gains were reported across key components, indicating a tentative rebound rather than strong growth.

• Prices Received dipped slightly by -0.9 pts to 25.7, while Prices Paid jumped 9.2 pts to 56.0. This divergence points to margin compression in June.
• 56.9% of firms reported paying higher prices, up from 49.5% in June.
• Only 0.9% of firms reported lower input prices, while no change was reported in those receiving higher selling prices (29.4%).
• The Number of Employees index increased 4.5 pts to 9.2, continuing a gradual hiring trend.