US ISM Manufacturing output in February rise to 4-month high

FXStreet (Mumbai) - The final seasonally adjusted Markit US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 55.1 in February from 53.9 in the previous month. The actual figure beat the estimate of 53.00.

The rate of growth in new business has been the fastest since last October, with a modest rise in the new export orders. The employment in the manufacturing sector rose, although the rate of job creation eased to the slowest in seven months. Input prices at manufacturing firms decreased for the second successive month despite which firms continued to raise their output prices in February.

As per Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at Markit, “Manufacturing braved the cold weather in February, reporting an upturn in the pace of growth. A flurry of activity towards the month end helped raise production to a greater extent than signalled by the earlier flash reading. The upbeat survey points to minimal impact from the adverse weather that affected many parts of the country during the month. While growth of manufacturing output remained below the peaks seen last year, the survey is broadly consistent with production rising at an annualised rate approaching 4%.”