Indicators
Manufacturing in US Contracts for First Time Since May 2020
- ISM purchasing managers index dropped to 49 in November
- Index of prices paid shrank most since pandemic aftermath
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US manufacturing contracted in November for the first time since May 2020 as output weakened in the face of a third-straight month of shrinking orders.
The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of factory activity slid to 49 from 50.2 in the prior month, according to data released Thursday. The measure has fallen in five of the last six months and stands below 50, the threshold separating expansion and contraction, for the first time since the pandemic lockdowns.