Credit: Investing.com -
Investing.com - Manufacturing activity in the U.S. expanded at the slowest pace in 13 months in February, fuelling concerns over the health of the economy, industry data showed on Monday.
In a report, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of purchasing managers fell to 52.9 last month from a reading of 53.5 in January. Analysts had expected the manufacturing PMI to decline to 53.0 in February.
The New Orders Index registered 52.5, a decrease of 0.4 points from the reading of 52.9 in January.
The Production Index registered 53.7, 2.8 points below the January reading of 56.5.
The Employment Index registered 51.4, 2.7 points below the January reading of 54.1.
The Prices Index registered 35.0, the same as in January, indicating lower raw materials prices for the fourth consecutive month.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
Comments from the panel express a growing level of concern over the West Coast dock slowdown, negatively impacting exports and imports and requiring workarounds and added costs.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1212 from around 1.1218 ahead of the release of the data, while GBP/USD was at 1.5382 from 1.5383 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.87 from 119.79 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.33, compared to 95.27 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets remained higher. The Dow 30 rose 0.45%, the S&P 500 tacked on 0.25%, while the Nasdaq 100 increased 0.5%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,212.20 a troy ounce, compared to $1,211.90 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $49.35 a barrel from $49.10 earlier.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
