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The numbers: The Empire State manufacturing index fell 2.4 points in July to a reading of 22.6, the New York Fed said Monday.
Any reading of the diffusion index above zero indicates improving conditions. Economists polled by Econoday expected a reading of 21. The June reading of 25 was an eight-month high.
What happened: The new-orders index dipped 3.1 points to 18.2, while the shipments index fell 8.9 points to 14.6. Indexes for unfilled orders and inventories also declined. The prices-paid index fell 10 points but was still elevated at 42.7. Optimism about the future slipped with the index for future conditions falling 7.8 points to 31.1.
The big picture: Economists believe the U.S. manufacturing sector as on an impressive roll but there is concern trade tensions could dampen growth. There is no hard evidence that tariffs are hurting business investment yet. Some economists had expected a clearer adverse reaction in the Empire report.
Economists use the Empire data to gauge the national ISM manufacturing index. That index hit 60.2 in June, matching the second highest level in the expansion.
Market reaction: Stocks DJIA, +0.38% were set to open basically flat Monday. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMU8, +0.08% edged up 16 points to 25,016.