Wednesday, January 2, 2013

US Manufacturing Beats Estimate; Construction Spending Falls

US Manufacturing Beats Estimate; Construction Spending Falls: "U.S. manufacturing expanded slightly in December, while a separate report showed that U.S. construction spending fell in November for the first time in eight months.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity rose to 50.7 from 49.5 in November, bouncing back from an unexpected contraction the prior month, according to an industry report released on Wednesday. The reading narrowly beat 50.3, the median expectation of 55 economists polled by Reuters.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

While the index recovered from the 40-month low hit in November, it was well off the 54.1 reading seen in January 2012, suggesting manufacturing was still struggling to regain the momentum it had at the start of last year."

'via Blog this'

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