March brought more negative readings (which signal contraction) reported for manufacturing in the New York and Philadelphia regions. The Empire State Index contracted sharply to -24.6, which was much worse than estimates, while the Philadelphia Fed Index remained in contraction territory for the seventh straight month. These reports suggest that the manufacturing sector is already experiencing recession-like conditions.

Meanwhile, Retail Sales were also down 0.4% in February after warmer than expected weather in January boosted sales at the start of the year. A drop in car sales and spending at restaurants contributed to the overall decline last month.