The Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook Survey, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Tuesday, showed the region's business activity in the nonmanufacturing sector continued to expand in early August, albeit at a slower pace than in July.

According to the survey, the regional activity index came in at 37.2, down from 44.8 in July. This was the lowest reading in the last three months.

A reading above 0 signals expansion, while a reading below 0 indicates contraction.

According to the report, the new orders index fell 4 points to a reading of 27.4 in August, recording its first decline since April, while the sales/revenues index plunged 11 points to 29.0, the full-time employment index plunged 17 points to 8.2 and the part-time employment index dropped 8 points to 2.1. At the same time, the unfilled orders index rose 5 points to 13.0. On the price front, the prices paid index decreased 5 points to 50.1, while the prices received index slipped 3 points to 26.2.