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Economic Watch: Manufacturing at 40-Month High, Existing Home Sales Slip Again
A preliminary report about the U.S. manufacturing sector for this month showed business conditions continue improving, hitting a 40-month high, while a separate one on existing home sales revealed a decline for the second straight month amid higher prices and a supply shortage.
The Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index from the financial information services provider IHS Markit rose to 55.9 in February, up from 55.5 the month before as it pointed to the fastest improvement in overall business conditions since October 2014. A reading above 50 indicates manufacturing is expanding.
A sharp and accelerated rise in incoming new business helped to boost the headline PMI in February, while manufacturing production growth was little-changed since January. The latest rise in new order volumes was the steepest for around three-and-a-half years, which survey respondents attributed to greater sales to domestic clients alongside further export gains.
Improving manufacturing business conditions also reflected a robust rise in payroll numbers and sustained pre-production stock building in February. Meanwhile, there were signs of stretched supply chains, with delivery times from vendors lengthening for the 14th month running.
Greater demand for inputs and rising commodity prices contributed to a sharp rise in average cost burdens across the sector. The latest increase in manufacturing input prices was the fastest since December 2012. Efforts to alleviate pressure on operating margins led to the steepest rate of factory-gate price inflation for just over four years in February.
“Business activity growth accelerated markedly in February, suggesting the economy is growing at its fastest pace for over two years,” said Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit.
He said this report, along with surveys, are indicative of the U.S. gross domestic product rising at an annualized rate of 3%. This GDP expanded at a rate of 2.6% in the final quarter of 2017, down slightly from ...Read the rest of this story
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