India, July 17 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released a report on Thursday showing manufacturing activity in the region unexpectedly expanded overall in the month of July.
The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity surged to a positive 15.9 in July from a negative 4.0 in June, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to rise to a negative 1.0.
With the much bigger than expected jump, the diffusion index for current general activity reached its highest level since hitting a positive 18.1 in February.
The spike by the headline index came amid sharp increases by the new orders and shipments indexes, which also reached their highest readings since February.
The new ...