The National Association of Purchasing Management-New York's index of local business activity rose to 419.8 in May from 419.6 in April.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Business activity in New York City grew in May for the first time in four months, helped in part by easing worry over credit conditions, according to an industry report released on Friday.
The National Association of Purchasing Management-New York's index of local business activity rose to 419.8 in May from 419.6 in April.
The report's seasonally adjusted measure on current business conditions rose to 50.4 this month from 37.6 in April. It was the first time this index has been above 50 threshold since December. A reading above 50 suggests economic growth.
The survey's non-seasonally index on six-month business outlook climbed to 62.0 in May, the highest since October 2007, from 59.6 in April.
!ADVERTISEMENT!"Business impediments diminished in May. Notably, the survey revealed reduced concerns about the credit crunch," the group said in a statement.
However, the companies surveyed remained skittish with two-thirds of them expecting slower profit growth the rest of the year, according to NAPM-New York.
Input cost pressures did not accelerate in May but stayed elevated in May. The group's prices paid gauge slipped to 63.0 from 66.3 in April.
"The second leg of the current downturn is behind us, but sustained recovery has yet to be observed," the group said.
(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)
