US Manufacturing Hits Low in October

November 1, 2013 Share Print 0

The pace of growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector hit a one-year-low in October as factory output slowed sharply, an industry report showed on Friday.

Financial data firm Markit said its final U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index stood at 51.8 last month. That was better than an initial estimate of 51.1 but still a point below September’s reading and the worst final showing since October, 2012.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector

A sharp slowdown in output, which at 50.6 was the lowest in 13 months, was the main drag on growth. The subindex stood at 55.3 in September. New orders from domestic customers also slowed, though overseas demand rose slightly.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said a partial government shutdown in the first half of October likely contributed to the slowdown in output and growth.

Firms hired workers at a slightly faster rate in October, however, with the subindex rising to 52.7 from 51.3.

via Reuters

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.