ISM: Is That A Blah Number?

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Eh..... I think so.
"The PMI registered 50.8 percent, a decrease of 0.8 percentage point from September's reading of 51.6 percent, indicating expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 27th consecutive month. The New Orders Index increased 2.8 percentage points from September to 52.4 percent, indicating a return to growth after three months of contraction. The Prices Index, at 41 percent, dropped 15 percentage points, and is below the 50 percent mark for the first time since May 2009 when it registered 43.5 percent. Inventories decreased to 46.7 percent, which is 5.3 percentage points below the September reading of 52 percent.
I don't know that I like this number frankly. The inventory drawdown is the good news in this number, in that it's not the disaster it would have been had it shown up somewhere else. But - the Prices Index dropping like this says that the profit squeeze is coming through the python and will show up in profits. So you get with one hand and give back with the other. The rest of the report is pretty much neutral; production is a...
Read the full analysis here.
Posted In: Econ #sEconomicsMarkets
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