The Institute for Supply Management’s closely-watched PMI Index exceeded expectations by increasing 1.8 points to 56.0 in August, its highest reading since January 2019, indicating that national manufacturing continued to expand for the third month in a row (a reading above 50.0 indicates growth). The Index was led higher by New Orders (+6.1 points to 67.6) and Production (+1.2 points to 63.3), while Inventories (-2.6 points to 44.4) and Employment (+2.1 points to 46.4) continued to contract in August, suggesting that the labor market may be slowing as some economists predicted after the re-opening gains in May/June. See the full report here.
