The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that conditions for New York manufacturers continued to improve in May, but at a slightly slower pace than in April. The general business conditions index fell 3½ points, to 12.4. Most other indexes held near their April levels.

• The new orders, shipments, and unfilled orders indexes were all positive and slightly higher than April

• The prices paid index rose from 37.9 to 42.6 in May, suggesting an acceleration in the rate of inflation. 45% of respondents reported paying higher prices, while 2% reported paying lower prices.