Manufacturing activity in New York expanded at a faster monthly pace in October and topped market expectations, as new orders and shipments picked up sharply, according to latest results of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Empire State Manufacturing Survey.

The headline general business conditions index rose to 21.1 this month from 19.0 in September, beating Econoday's consensus forecast of an 18.8 index reading.

The new orders index climbed to 22.5 from 16.5, and the shipments index jumped to 26.3 from 14.3.

Delivery times continued to lengthen in October, while inventories held steady, the survey results showed.

The measures for prices paid and received by manufacturers both fell this month but remained elevated, the Fed survey said.

Companies remained moderately optimistic about the six-month outlook, with the index for future business conditions little changed in October.