Philly Fed Manufacturing Index improves to 25.7 in July from 19.9 in June to beat expectations

"Regional manufacturing activity continued to expand in July, according to results from this month’s Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey," the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia announced on Thursday.

Key takeaways from the official publication

• The diffusion index for current general activity increased 6 points this month.
• Over 44 percent of the manufacturers reported increases in overall activity this month, while 19 percent reported decreases.
• The new orders index rebounded 14 points after falling 23 points in June.
• Nearly 46 percent of the firms reported an increase in orders, and 14 percent reported declines.
• The current shipments index, however, decreased 4 points.
• The firms reported, on balance, increases in unfilled orders and longer delivery times this month.