Business dips for New York manufacturers

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index tumbled to a negative 14.9 in August from a positive 3.9 in July, with a negative reading indicating a contraction in manufacturing activity.

New York state business conditions in August contracted for the third time in five months and fell to its lowest level since 2009, according to data released Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The index, on a scale where any positive number indicates improving conditions, was far worse than the positive 4.5 forecast in a MarketWatch-compiled economist poll.

A gauge of new orders fell to minus 15.7 from minus 3.5, while a measure of shipments dropped to minus 13.8 from positive 7.9.

The shipments index plunged to -13.8 from 7.88 last month.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the index to rise to 5.00 this month. The inventories index was down handily as well, falling to -17.3.

Labor market indicators, meanwhile, pointed to little change in employment and hours worked, the report said.

One thing that stood out here is that the price indexes showed that input prices were slightly higher, but selling prices were flat. The index for number of employees edged down to 1.82 from 3.19, and the average workweek index fell to -1.82 from 4.26.

While indexes for future activity fell short of the higher levels recorded throughout 2014, they still showed a fair degree of optimism about the six month outlook.

The index gauging expectations for business conditions in six months increased in July, to 33.64 from 27.04.

U.S. manufacturers have been struggling with a variety of headwinds, including weak overseas economies in Europe and China, that have cut into exports.

Not long after the open, the National Association of Home Builders is scheduled to release a separate report on homebuilder confidence in the month of August.