New York Fed Empire State Index plunges, June current conditions at only +5.7, far below expectations of +14

(1) The New York Fed's Empire State current business conditions index for June plunged to +5.7 from May's +19.6, far below the market expectation of +14.0, indicating a sharp slowdown in manufacturing activity in New York State. (2) The new orders index dropped significantly from +22.7 in May to +3.5, close to the zero-expansion level, suggesting a marked weakening in future demand momentum. (3) The six-month business outlook index fell from +33.5 to +30.1, showing that corporate optimism for the next half year has moderated but remains in a relatively positive range. (4) The prices paid index edged down slightly from +62.6 to +61.0, still at a high level, indicating input cost pressures have not significantly eased. (5) The employment index rose slightly from +8.3 to +9.6, suggesting that despite the slowdown in business activity, companies’ hiring intentions are still moderately expanding.