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Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region increased in October, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

The area’s factory index climbed to a reading of 8.7, from a reading of minus 17.5 a month earlier. Readings greater than zero indicate expansion.

The reading increased more than economists’ forecast of a minus 9.4 reading, Bloomberg reported.

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