Manufacturing in New York Area Expanded at Slower Pace in July

Manufacturing in the New York region expanded in July at the slowest pace this year, as measures of orders and sales cooled.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index dropped to 5.1, lower than the median forecast of 18 in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Readings greater than zero signal expansion in the so-called Empire State Index that covers New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut.