RE: One eye on US manufacturing data this afternoon....1 Aug 2022 10:01
The ISM Manufacturing PMI fell to 53 in June of 2022 from 56.1 in May, pointing to the slowest growth in factory activity since June of 2020, and below market forecasts of 54.9. New orders contracted for the first time in two years (49.2 vs 55.1), in a sign rising interest rates are hurting demand. Also, employment declined further (47.3 vs 49.6) although companies improved their progress on addressing moderate-term labor shortages at all tiers of the supply chain. At the same time, supplier deliveries slowed (57.3 vs 65.7) while production (54.9 vs 54.2) and inventories (56 vs 55.9) increased slightly faster and price pressures eased (78.5 vs 82.2). Meanwhile, business sentiment remained optimistic regarding demand, but firms continue to note supply chain and pricing issues as their biggest concerns. source: Institute for Supply Management