By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The US manufacturing sector in December contracted for the 14th consecutive month, according to a report released Wednesday by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
The ISM manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 47.4% last month – 0.7 percentage points higher than then 46.7% recorded in November.
While a reading above 50 indicates growth, one below that shows contraction.
The market expectation for the index, based on replies from purchasing and supply executives in more than 400 industrial firms, was to come in at 47.1%.
"The overall economy continued in contraction for a third month after one month of weak expansion preceded by nine months of contraction and a 30-month period of expansion before that," said Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
The new orders index failed to leave the contraction zone in December, recording a 16th consecutive month in that territory, by coming in at 47.1% – 1.2 percentage points lower than 48.3% in November.
The production index in October, on the other hand, posted a reading of 50.3%, a 1.8 percentage points increase from November's figure of 48.5%.