The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported its general business activity index for manufacturing in Texas tumbled to -73.7 in April from an unrevised - 70.0 in March, hitting a new historical low.

According to the report, the production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions fell from -35.3 to -55.3, suggesting the contraction in output has steepened since last month. The new orders index dropped 26 points to -67.0, its lowest reading since the survey began in 2004. Elsewhere, the orders index, capacity utilization and shipments indexes fell to -62.2, -54.5 and -56.6, respectively, recording their historical lows. At the same time, the employment index held steady at -21.2, while the company outlook index remained near an all-time low but inched up from -65.6 to -62.6.