Economics
Humming U.S. Factories End 2018 on a Sour Note
- Dallas Fed manufacturing gauge posts steepest drop since 2013
- All five regional gauges are down for first time in two years
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Five Federal Reserve indexes of regional manufacturing all slumped in December, the first time they’ve fallen in unison since May 2016 and the latest evidence that a pillar of the U.S. economy has started to wobble heading into next year.
The Dallas Fed’s factory index unexpectedly contracted this month, falling to a two-year low of minus 5.1 from 17.6 in November, and the steepest decline since 2013. The district bank covers the oil-producing region of Texas, northern Louisiana and southern New Mexico. Oil prices are down about 40 percent from a nearly four-year high in October.