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Manufacturing levels in the Philadelphia region showed contraction for the second consecutive month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

The area’s factory index for September rose to a reading of minus 0.7, from a minus 7.7 reading in August, the regional Fed said.

Readings greater than zero indicate expansion; below that shows contraction.

The level was well below economists’ forecasts of a positiv reading, Bloomberg reported.

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