January Empire State index jumps to 13.5 (by Greg Robb)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Empire State manufacturing index rose in January to its highest level since April, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said Tuesday. The Empire state index rose to 13.5 in January from a revised 8.2 in December. This is the third straight large increase after the index had below zero from June through October. The size of the gain in January surprised analysts. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected the index to rise to 11.3 in January. Underlying conditions were mainly strong. The new orders index rose to 13.7 in January from 6.0 in December. The employment indexes both increased. The index for the number of employees rose to 12.1 in January from 2.3 in December while the average workweek rose to 6.6 from negative 2.3 in the prior month. A reading of expected conditions six-months ahead climbed sharply in January to 54.9, its highest reading in a year.