Thursday 2 November 2006

Manufacturing indices and other indicators looking negative

The downtrend continues for the US economy. Reuters reports:

The Institute for Supply Management's factory index slipped to 51.2 last month from 52.9 in September, below Wall Street forecasts and its lowest level since June 2003...

The housing sector was leading the way. U.S. construction spending fell 0.3 percent in September led by a sixth straight monthly drop in private residential building. In a separate report, a real estate group said pending sales of existing homes dropped 1.1 percent in September.

News from the auto industry was also not too encouraging. U.S. domestic cars and light trucks were sold at an annual rate of 12.3 million units for October, short of estimates for 12.7 million.

The detailed ISM report shows that the prices paid index plunged to 47.0 in October from 61.0 in September.

And it is not much better elsewhere.

In the UK, Reuters reports that the CIPS/RBS Purchasing Managers' Index slipped to 53.7 in October from an upwardly revised 54.5 in September. The output prices index rose to 56.0 in October from 55.1 in September.

In China, AFX/Forbes reports that the CLSA PMI dipped to 52.1 in October from 52.4 in September. The October reading marked its lowest level in seven months and its third consecutive fall.

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