US manufacturing continued to shrink in July, ISM says

Factory sector activity in the U.S. continued to shrink last month, the results of a closely followed survey showed.

The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing sector Purchasing Managers' Index edged up from a reading of 46.0 for June to 46.4 in July.

Consensus had been for an improvement to 46.9.

A key sub-index tracking new orders did improve, rising from 45.6 to 47.3, but at below the 50 point mark continued to signal a contraction.

The sub-index for employment on the other hand slipped further, from 48.1 to 44.4 while that for prices paid increased from 41.8 to 42.6.

Among purchasing managers' positive comments, one from the Primary Metals sector said that order books remained "strong", while another manager from the Machinery space said that suppliers were starting to reach out looking for new business.

On the negative side, a manager in Transportation Equipment said that demand was "softening" and another in Chemical Products said that sales in the industry were "extremely slow".

-- More to follow --