55.5 in October: US ISM Manufacturing PMI improves, beating 54.6 forecast

The manufacturing PMI reached 55.5 in October. Up from 54.5 in September, the Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) signalled faster expansion in manufacturing activity in the United States (US). The reading exceeded the market forecast of 54.6.

Elsewhere in the report, the inflation component, the Prices Paid Index, fell from 77.9 to 75.2. The Employment Index also eased over the period, reaching 52.4.

Susan Spence, Chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, offered this assessment of the findings: "in October, US manufacturing activity remained in expansion territory. Of the five subindexes that make up the PMI, four (New Orders, Production, Supplier Deliveries and Inventories) grew faster than the previous month, while Employment growth slowed down by 0.3 percentage point,"

Spence also commented: "In October, general sentiment got worse for a third month in a row, with 34 percent of the comments positive and 66 percent negative (a 1-to-2 ratio of positive to negative sentiment)," She added: "Among negative comments, pricing volatility was mentioned in 62 percent, longer lead times 41 percent, tariffs 25 percent and the Iran war 21 percent; most comments mentioned multiple factors."

101.60: US Dollar Index Shows Little Reaction to Report

Little market response followed the release. The US Dollar Index stood at 101.60 at the time of writing, down 0.35% on the day.