Mubasher: Business activity continued declining in New York for the third consecutive month in December, hit by the drop seen in new orders.

Empire State Manufacturing Index recorded 17.7 points in January, down from 19.6 points in December, according to the data released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York City on Tuesday.

Economists had expected the index to reach 18.5 points in January.

Data also showed that new orders went down to 11.9 points from 19 points in December, while shipments shrunk to 14.4 points from 23.5 points.