Texas business activity pulled into positive territory for June, according to a Dallas Federal Reserve Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey (link opens in PDF) released today.
From a -10.5 rating in May, the Dallas Fed's general business activity bumped up to 6.5. Analysts were surprised, having expected a solid 0.0 for June.
The monthly survey asks about 100 different Texas manufacturers to rate their views on current and future business activity. Market watchers keep a close eye on this index, as Texas' manufacturing can serve as an important indicator of national economic health. A positive number indicates month-over-month growth, while a negative number means contraction.
As overall business activity headed higher, production, capacity utilization, and new orders indices also increased. The survey's production index clocked in at 17.1, while capacity utilization hit 15.3, marking two-year highs for both indices.
Source: DallasFed.org.
New orders increased for a second month in a row, up 6.8 points to 13.0. Asked about conditions six months from now, future new orders bumped up 6.3 points to 33.2. Future general business activity jumped out of the red to hit 14.7, while future company outlook increased 16.5 points to 21.8.
