The U.S. manufacturing sector continued to expand in October but at a slower growth rate compared to the previous month, data released Thursday by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed.
According to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business, the October purchasing managers' index (PMI), which gauges the performance of the manufacturing sector, registered 57.7 percent, down from the September reading of 59.8 percent.
The expansion in the manufacturing sector, which is often signaled by a PMI reading above 50 percent, was "led by moderately strong production output and continued supplier delivery performance issues," said Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM's Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
Albeit a slowdown in pace, the manufacturing sector illustrated a 26-month consecutive growth, while the overall economy maintained an upward trend into the 114th month, the data indicated.
Of all the 11 specific indicators tracked by the monthly survey, seven registered decrease in growth rate month-on-month, with the sharpest decline occurring in the new orders index, which was down 4.4 percentage points to 57.4.
Furthermore, the production index registered 59.9 percent, a 4-percentage point decrease compared to the September reading of 63.9 percent; the employment index slipped 2 percentage points to 56.8 percent; the prices index was up 4.7 percentage points to 71.6 percent, indicating higher raw materials prices for the 32nd consecutive month, the report said.
The October PMI corresponded to a 4.5-percent increase in real gross domestic production on an annualized basis, the report added.
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