US Manufacturing Expands in February

March 3, 2014 Share Print 0

US manufacturing activity expanded at a faster-than-expected rate in February.

The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing index rose to 53.2 from 51.3 in January. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

Separate data showed construction spending rose slightly in January, helped by residential construction.

Manufacturing and construction are key to the US economy and there were fears that severe weather across many parts of the US may have hurt the sectors.

Bradley Holcomb, chair of ISM’s survey committee said that while several manufacturers said severe weather was impacting their business, “other comments reflect optimism in terms of demand and growth in the near term”.

via BBC

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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.