The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
US factory activity unexpectedly contracted in August for the first time in three years as shrinking orders, production and hiring pushed a widely followed measure of manufacturing to its lowest level since January 2016.
The Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing managers index fell to 49.1 in August, weaker than all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists, data released on Tuesday showed. Figures below 50 signal the manufacturing economy is generally contracting.
The group’s gauge of new orders dropped to a more than seven-year low, while the production index shrank to the weakest level since the end of 2015.
Faltering manufacturing could complicate President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign as recent data undermines one of his signature promises for a strong economy. Stocks extended declines and the yield on 10-year Treasuries fell sharply on Tuesday after the data was released. The dollar weakened.
The latest downturn underscores how slowing global growth and an escalating US trade war with China are taking an even bigger toll on domestic producers. Manufacturing is technically already in a recession in the US with a Federal Reserve measure of output declining in two consecutive quarters.