ISM Manufacturing Index Rises to Highest Level in Two Years as New Orders, Prices Jump - 10:32 AM EST, 01/03/2017 (MT Newswires) -- The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index rose to the highest level in two years last month and the overall economy grew for the 91st straight month, the ISM said in a report on Tuesday. The manufacturing index rose to 54.7% in December, up from November's 53.2%, the ISM said. The new orders index rose to 60.2%, up 7.2 percentage points, from the prior monthly. The employment index came in at 53.1%, up from 52.3%, and raw-material inventories were reported at a 47% reading, down 2 percentage points from November, the ISM said. The prices index rose 11 points to 65.5% in December, an indication of higher raw material prices. Eleven of the 18 manufacturing industries -- petroleum and coal, primary metals, miscellaneous manufacturing, food, beverage and tobacco, apparel, paper products, machines, electrical equipment, appliances, computers, fabricated metal and chemicals -- reported growth last month. Plastics and rubber, furniture, printing, textile mills, non-metallic minerals and transportation equipment all reported contraction in December.
MT Newswires
MT Newswires
