An index of New York manufacturing conditions fell to a two-year low in April, while rising oil costs pushed U.S. import prices up at their fastest pace in more than two years.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Friday the general business conditions index of its Empire Manufacturing Survey fell sharply to 3.12 in April from an upwardly revised 20.18 in March, sharply below the consensus forecast of 19.
And the Labor Department said U.S. import prices rose 1.8 percent in March, the biggest increase since January 2003.
