RICHMOND FED MANUFACTURING INDEX CRUSHES EXPECTATIONS

The Richmond Fed manufacturing index surged to 14 in August.

This crushed expectations for a rise to zero.

Economists polled by Bloomberg are looking for the index to rise to 0, from -11 in July.

The slump in July was led by a slowdown in retail sales. The index measuring retail sales had plunged to -22, down 23 points from the June reading.