ISM manufacturing PMI falls to 50.2, S&P Global PMI revised higher

The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell from 50.9 in September to 50.2 in October for the slowest growth in factory activity seen since mid 2020's contraction.

New orders contracted from 49.2 to 47.1, employment rose from 50 to 48.7, while backlogs of orders dropped to 45.3 from 50.9.

Price pressures continued to ease for a seventh month in a row, falling into contraction territory as it dropped to 46.6 from 51.7, while production rose to 52.3 from 50.6.

ISM chair Timothy Fiore said: "With panelists reporting softening new order rates over the previous five months, the October index reading reflects companies’ preparing for potential future lower demand."

Elsewhere, the S&P Global manufacturing PMI was revised higher to 50.4 in October from a preliminary of 49.9, but was again the slowest growth in factory activity since the sector contracted in the second quarter of 2020.

In terms of prices, rates of input price and output charge inflation softened, but still remained high, while business confidence weakened to the lowest since May 2020.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com