Reports Stir Hopes of U.S. Factory Revival
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturers showed further signs of revival on Tuesday, as reports from the Federal Reserve (news - web sites) and one of its regional banks showed gains in the sector in January and early February.
The Federal Reserve said its gauge of activity at American factories, mines and utilities rose a sharp 0.8 percent in January, led by a weather-related gain in utilities use. Factory output -- more than four-fifths of total production -- rose 0.3 percent, its fifth straight monthly rise.
In a separate report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its two-year-old Empire Manufacturing Survey of factories in the state that the business conditions index rose to a record 42.05 in early February from 38.85 in January.
The two reports may help ease worries over the embattled U.S. factory sector, which has yet to see employment recover from the 2001 recession. Manufacturers have trimmed payrolls for 42 straight months, with about 2.8 million factory jobs lost since President Bush (news - web sites) took office in January 2001. Still, another widely watched index compiled by the Institute for Supply Management has shown eight straight months of growing factory output.
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Reports Stir Hopes of U.S. Factory Revival