Economy
February 2, 2016
ISM PMI Still in Contraction at 48.2
Written by Sandy Williams
The Institute for Supply Management reports that manufacturing activity in January remained in contraction for the fourth consecutive month. The January PMI was 48.2, signaling continued weakness in the manufacturing sector despite overall growth for the economy. The reading was no surprise to economists, coming in just above expectations of 48.1 in a poll by Reuters.
New orders picked up increasing 2.7 percentage points from December, reaching 51.5 for the second non-contraction reading in five months. Production gained 0.3 points to 50.2 percent. Backlogs of orders remained in contraction for the eighth consecutive month with 52 percent of respondents seeing no change from December.
