1457 ET - Manufacturing continues to weaken slightly in the Great Plains region, the Kansas City Fed reports. The reserve bank's monthly manufacturing-activity composite index comes in at minus 5 in February, the same level as in December and January. Readings below zero indicate more firms are seeing a contraction. That follows a downbeat Texas manufacturing survey from the Dallas Fed earlier this week. Optimism remains in the KC Fed survey for the near term, however, with firms continuing to expect more hiring in the next six months. On the other hand, the prices-paid and prices received indexes remain strongly positive, showing inflationary pressure. "This is a time of uncertainty for manufacturers, very difficult to make business plans," one respondent tells the KC Fed. (matt.grossman@wsj.com; @mattgrossman)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2025 14:57 ET (19:57 GMT)

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