By Emon Reiser

Factory activity in Texas stabilized in December after contracting in November as production pushed upward and manufacturing output saw little change from the month before.

The index for general business activity in December pushed up 11 points to minus 9.3 from minus 19.9 in November, according to the latest Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected the reading to rise more modestly to minus 19.0.

The Dallas Fed conducts the monthly survey, which asks Texas business executives about conditions in the industrial sector. A reading below zero describes a contraction in industry.

The production index, measuring state manufacturing conditions, also increased 9 points to 1.4, indicating little change from November's manufacturing output, the Dallas Fed said.

The measure for new orders remained negative, but moved up to minus 10.9 from minus 20.5 the month before, while the capacity utilization index rebounded to 1.3 from minus 10.1. Shipments posted its 12th consecutive negative reading, but rose four points to minus 5.3 in December.

Labor market measures suggest slight employment declines and stable work weeks December, the Dallas Fed added.

Meanwhile, expectations for future activity remained mixed in December, with the production index largely unchanged, while for general business activity stayed negative, but pushing up to minus 8.7 from minus 13.4 in the month before.

Write to Emon Reiser at emon.reiser@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 26, 2023 11:01 ET (16:01 GMT)