The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing reading rose to 10.3 in June from minus 0.4 in May.
The index of leading indicators rose by 0.1% in May after a 0.2% gain in April, with positive contributions from six of the ten components, especially stock prices.
Initial jobless claims decreased by 4,000 to 226,000 in the employment survey week ended June 13, but the four-week moving average rose by 4,000 to 223,250, a fourth straight increase.
Initial jobless claims were at a level of 210,000 in the employment survey week ended May 16.
Insured claims rose by 24,000 to 1.810 million in the week ended June 6.
Natural gas stocks rose by 73 billion cubic feet to 2.759 trillion cubic feet in the week ended June 12, down 1% from a year earlier but 5.8% higher than the seasonal average for the current week over the previous five years.