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Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region dropped in August to its lowest level since March 2009, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

The area’s factory index fell to a reading of minus 30.7, from a reading of 3.2 a month earlier. Readings greater than zero indicate expansion.

The reading fell more than economists’ forecasts of a 2 reading, Bloomberg reported.

The Philadelphia F surveys about 100 manufacturers for the index in eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and southern New Jersey.