The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has released a survey showing that Texas manufacturing activity contracted for the ninth consecutive month in January. The Texas manufacturing activity index rose to -8.4, beating analysts’ expectations of -9.9, and improving from -20.0 in December.
Despite the improvement, the index remained negative, indicating a continued contraction in Texas manufacturing. The slowdown in new orders and the lack of confidence in the business sector for the next six months have affected the contraction. However, employment in the sector has expanded.