The US data yesterday were mixed. Reuters reports:
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity eased to 49.3 from 51.4 in December, below economists' median forecast for a slight rise to 51.9...
Another report contributed to the mixed economic picture. Pending sales of existing U.S. homes advanced a stronger-than-expected 4.9 percent in December, the biggest monthly gain since 2004...
Incomes rose 0.5 percent in December after a 0.3 percent gain in November while spending climbed 0.7 percent after a 0.5 percent rise in November, a Commerce Department report showed.
Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile energy and food costs, rose 0.1 percent in December after being unchanged in November. Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting a 0.2 percent rise...
The number of U.S. workers applying for jobless benefits fell a much sharper-than-expected 20,000 last week, according to a separate report from the Labor Department, underscoring strength in the labor market.
However, a report from employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed planned job cuts by companies in the United States rose 15 percent in January from December to 62,975.
The weakness in US manufacturing pulled the global January PMI down. Again from Reuters:
The global indicator produced by JP Morgan with research and supply management organisations fell to 52.4 in January -- its lowest level since August 2005 -- from 53.4 in December but held above the 50.0 mark dividing growth from contraction.
Improvements were seen in Japan, where the NTC Research/Nomura/JMMA Purchasing Managers Index edged up to 53.4 from 53.1 in December, and in the UK, where the CIPS/RBS Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 52.8 from 52.0.
On the other hand, the eurozone RBS/NTC Manufacturing PMI fell to 55.5 in January from 56.5 in December while in China, the CLSA PMI fell to a ten-month low of 52.0 in January from 52.4 in December.
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