The Empire State Manufacturing survey had its worst two-month contraction ever. The Headline print and New Orders both fell to lows matched only by the trough of the pandemic.
A month after falling 24 points, the general business conditions index plummeted another 29 points in January, a nadir last seen in May 2020.
“It takes the series down well below the lowest point it ever got to during the Great Financial Crisis,” explains Josh Steiner in this clip from The Call @ Hedgeye. “There was only one month in the history of that data series that was worst, and that was the first real month of Covid and the lockdown. It’s a really bad number and all the subcomponents of that data was equally bad.”
“It stands perfectly and horribly within the context of the macro presentation we gave,” adds Keith McCullough. “There are basically hundreds of time series that look equally bad or are at least becoming as bad.”
Watch the full clip above. To see the 160+ slides of data McCullough revealed in our Q1 2024 Macro Themes presentation earlier this month, email support@hedgeye.com to upgrade your subscription to Macro Pro.
