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Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region improved in February month for a fifth straight month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

The area’s factory index jumped to a reading of 35.9, from 19.3 in January, the regional Fed said. Readings greater than zero indic expansion.

The reading was well over economists’ forecast of a rise to 21 reading, Bloomberg reported.

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