By Joshua KirbyManufacturing activity in the central U.S. declined more sharply in July, though firms remained upbeat about the future, according to a monthly survey. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said Thursday that the Tenth District manufacturing survey's composite index dropped to minus 13 this month from minus eight in June. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected the index to tick up to minus six. The Kansas City Fed survey measures manufacturing activity in the western third of Missouri, all of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming, and the northern half of New Mexico. Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby(END) Dow Jones NewswiresJuly 25, 2024 11:36 ET (15:36 GMT)Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Source: Wall Street Journal July 25, 2024 15:47 UTC