(CercleFinance.com) – Manufacturing activity in the United States contracted for the 15th consecutive month in January, but the pace of its decline slowed thanks to an improvement in demand and a stabilization of the production.
According to the monthly survey released Thursday by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the manufacturing index stood at 49.1 last month, an improvement of two points compared to the previous month’s figure (47.1). .
Economists on average expected a less marked improvement, with an anticipated figure of around 48.
The index, which still shows a contraction in activity below 50 points, highlights contrasting developments: if order intake is improving, order books are shrinking.
Production increases, but employment decreases, while customer stocks are considered too low, which pushes prices upward, the survey also shows.
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