By Courtney Schlisserman Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region expanded in September for a second month as sales improved. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index jumped to 14.1 this month, higher than forecast, from 4.2 in August, the bank said today. The measure showed growth in back-to-back months for the first time since the end of 2007, and reached the highest reading since June 2007. Improving sales combined with a record decline in inventories means companies are likely to increase orders, giving factories scope to maintain the expansion in coming months. Gains in manufacturing and housing, two industries that led the economy into the worst recession since the 1930s, are now part of the emerging recovery. “The economy is on a sustainable path to growth,” Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities International in New York, said before the report. “Although the declines have ended, we shouldn’t see a large recovery any time soon.” Economists forecast the measure would increase to 8, according to the median of 56 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from 2.5 to 14.4. Other reports today showed housing starts climbed to a nine-month high in August and claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly dropped last week.

Source