US Manufacturing Shrinks at Slower Pace; Prices Gauge Jumps
- ISM manufacturing index edged up to 47.7 in February
- Prices-paid measure points to rising inflationary pressures
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A gauge of manufacturing improved for the first time in six months, though activity remained in contraction territory amid fragile demand and growing inflationary pressures.
The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of factory activity ticked up to 47.7 in February from the weakest print since May 2020. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for 48. Readings less than 50 indicate contraction.