The latest report by S&P Global revealed the seasonally adjusted
S&P Global final U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came
in at 48.5 in October, up from 47.3 in October and above the earlier released
“flash” estimate of 47.8. Still, the October reading indicated that the U.S.
factory activity continued to shrink last month, but at the slowest pace in
three months
Economists had forecast the index to remain unrevised at 47.8.
According to the report, the October contraction was due to continuing declines in new
orders and output, though softer, with respondents citing uncertainty ahead of
the Presidential Election as a key reason behind the weakness. In addition, employment
was down for the third month in a row, albeit only modestly. On the price front,
input costs increased at the slowest pace in almost a year and output price
inflation also eased.