US Factory Activity Shrinks With Price Gauge Highest Since 2022
- ISM factory index declined 1.1 points in April to 49.2
- Measure of prices paid for inputs rose 5.1 points to 60.9
Producers continue to battle headwinds of higher interest rates, elevated input costs and sluggish overseas markets.
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US factory activity contracted in April on declining demand while input prices rose at the fastest pace since inflation peaked in 2022.
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing gauge fell 1.1 points to 49.2, after expanding a month earlier for the first time since 2022, data out Wednesday showed. Readings less than 50 indicate contraction and the April figure was weaker than the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.