Philly Fed: Manufacturing activity continued to expand in May

"Results from the May Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey suggest that regional manufacturing activity continued to expand this month," said the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday.

Key highlights:

• The index for current manufacturing activity in the region increased from a reading of 22.0 in April to 38.8 this month
•  The index has been positive for 10 consecutive months
• This month, the index recovered some of the declines of the previous two months, but it still remains slightly below its high reading of 43.3 in February
• Firms reported an increase in manufacturing employment this month, but the current employment index fell 3 points. The index has remained positive for six consecutive months