Business activity declined in New York State in August, according to firms responding to the August 2023 Empire State Manufacturing Survey.

The headline general business conditions index fell twenty points to -19.0 (well below the -1.1 expected)

Perhaps most troubling is the fact that new orders and shipments fell significantly...

...while both the input and selling price indexes moved up several points...

So after a few weeks of blind optimism in soft data, it appears reality is biting back.