Spot gold slides below $4,600/oz after New York manufacturing index surprises with rise to 7.7

(Kitco News) – Manufacturing activity in the New York region rose back into expansionary territory this month, according to the latest figures published by the New York Federal Reserve.The regional central bank announced on Thursday that its Empire State manufacturing survey improved to 7.7 in January, after posting a -3.7 print in December. The data was better than expectations, as consensus forecasts called for a rise to 1.0.