US manufacturing grows more than expected in October, Markit reveals

US manufacturing activity expanded further in October, signalling a solid upturn in overall business conditions.

Markit’s purchasing managers’ index rose to 53.2 in October from a three-month low of 51.5 in September, surpassing estimates for an unchanged reading. A level above 50 signals an expansion while a reading below that indicates a contraction.

Manufacturing production rose for a fifth consecutive month in October and grew at the fastest pace in a year.

Incoming new orders picked up while new export orders rose slightly from a decline in the previous survey.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said: “Both output and new orders are rising at the fastest rates for a year amid increasingly widespread optimism that demand will pick up again after the presidential election, which has been commonly cited as a key factor that has subdued spending and investment in recent months.”