The report from the New York Federal Reserve showed on Thursday that manufacturing activity in the New York region expanded strongly in early April.

According to the survey, NY Fed Empire State manufacturing index climbed from 17.4 in March to 26.3 in April, pointing to the fastest growth in activity since October 2017.

Economists had expected the index to come in at 19.5.

Anything below zero signals contraction.

According to the report, the new orders index surged 17.8 points to 26.9, and the shipments index rose 3.9 points to 25.0, pointing to strong advances in orders and shipments. The delivery times index jumped 16.7 points to 28.1, pointing to the longest on record delivery times, and the inventories index went up 3.5 points to 11.6. The employment index increased 4.5 points to 13.9, indicating an ongoing rise in employment. On the price front, the prices paid index jumped 10.3 points to 74.7, its highest level since 2008, pointing to sharp input price increases, while the prices received index climbed 10.7 points to 34.9, a record high, indicating that selling prices grew at the quickest pace in more than twenty years.