US factory PMI moves into contractionary territory in November, S&P Global says

Factory sector activity in the US shrank last month with the downturn the sharpest since May 2020, revised survey readings confirmed.

S&P Global's US factory Purchasing Managers' Index fell back from a reading of 50.4 for October to 47.7 (Preliminary: 47.6) in November.

Economists had expected an unchanged reading.

S&P Global said the decline was chiefly due to falls in output and new orders as demand weakened both at home and abroad.

New orders recorded their steepest rate of decline since May 2020, according to the survey compiler.

"This slump in demand is increasingly manifesting itself in a shift from a sellers’- to a buyers’-market for a wide variety of goods, as evidenced by improving supply chains, meaning price pressures are now abating rapidly," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Glonal Market Intelligence.

"While supply chain worries persist, notably in relation to China’s lockdowns, companies’ concerns are increasingly moving away from the supply side to focusing on the darkening outlook for demand, meaning the business mood remains among the gloomiest seen over the past decade."