US ISM Manufacturing PMI hit 49.8 points in July. Early expectations stood on climb from last month’s 49.7 to 50.3 points this time. The manufacturing sector is definitely the weaker link in the US economy.
EUR/USD is rising cautiously after the publication, while USD/JPY is falling. Markets are awaiting the Fed decision later today and tomorrow’s ECB decision.
A worrying component in ISM’s report is the new orders figure, which is at 48 – deeper in contraction territory than the overall figure. It is a bit better than last month’s 47.8 points.
The better news comes from the employment component, which is still growing, with 52 points. However, it was much higher last month: 56.6. So, hiring in the manufacturing sector is slower.
Earlier, the manufacturing PMI by Markit scored 51.4 points for July, revised lower from 51.8 points in the original release and lower than a small rise to 51.9 that was expected.
50 points is the border between contraction and growth.
US construction spending rose by 0.4%, a bit lower than 0.5% that was expected.
Earlier, the US got some good news from the jobs front: the ADP report for the private sector showed a gain of 163K jobs, significantly better than a gain of 121K that was predicted.
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