Economic Data and Growth

U.S. import prices increased 1.9% in May, after rising 2.0% in April, with higher fuel and nonfuel prices driving the increase. Over the year, import prices advanced 6.7% in May, the largest 12-month increase since August 2022. Meanwhile, U.S. export prices stepped up 1.3% in May, driven by higher prices for nonagricultural and agricultural exports.

In June, Philadelphia’s regional manufacturing activity expanded after contracting slightly last month, with the index for general business activity rising from -0.4 to 10.3. This month, 32.1% reported increases, while 21.9% reported decreases. New orders rebounded, moving up from -1.7 to 27.3, while shipments rose from 4.9 to 14.9. Meanwhile, the employment index improved and…

As anticipated, the Federal Open Market Committee maintained its interest rate target range at 3.50%–3.75% at its June meeting. In a change to its previous statement, the FOMC noted expanding economic activity, productivity growth and strong capital investment. Furthermore, the statement cited strong job gains as well as elevated inflation, attributable to supply shocks in…

Industrial production edged up 0.1% in May, while manufacturing output stayed the same after increasing 0.7% in April. At 97.9% of its 2017 average, manufacturing production moved up 1.4% from May 2025. Capacity utilization for manufacturing was 75.7%, unchanged from April but up 1.1% over the past year. Capacity utilization remained 2.5 percentage points below…