An uptick in January's U.S. Purchasing Managers' Index to 48.2 trimmed the revised December drop to a 48.0 (was 48.2) expansion-low from 48.4 (was 48.6) in November to leave a fourth consecutive sub-50 reading that points up troubles in the factory sector. The employment index fell to an expansion-low of 45.9.
There's been an ongoing producer sentiment drop stateside since the modest June-July bounce, and though there were third-quarter gains for industrial production and gross domestic product (GDP), there was a big Q4 factory output drop alongside a weaker GDP path.
There was a 3.4% Q4 industrial production drop after a 2.6% growth rate in Q3 but prior contraction rates of 2.3% in Q2 and 0.3% in Q1. Monday's ISM rise follows a Chicago PMI surge to 55.6 from an expansion-low 42.9.
