Figures released Monday morning showed economic activity in the American manufacturing sector expanded again in April, climbing for the 95th consecutive month
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Monday the U.S. manufacturing index hit 54.8 for the month of April, still expanding but posting a decrease of 2.4 percentage points from its previous reading. Economists were projecting the index to fall slightly to 56.4 in April after March's reading of 57.2.
Still, data showed that, of 18 manufacturing industries surveyed by the ISM, 16 reported growth in April, including electrical equipment, appliances and components, and textile mills.
A reading above 50% on this index indicates the manufacturing economy is generally expanding, below 50% indicates that sector is generally contracting.
