U.S. manufacturing slows; job openings increase
But the survey from the Institute for Supply Management on Tuesday marked the third straight month of signs of improvements in labor and supplier delivery performance. Unfinished work increased at its slowest pace in 15 months and manufacturers remained upbeat on demand.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index would drop to 57.5. All of the six biggest manufacturing industries - machinery, food, transportation equipment, computer and electronic products, chemical products, and petroleum and coal products reported moderate to strong growth.The economy hit a soft patch in December which appeared to have persisted in early 2022 as coronavirus infections, driven by the Omicron variant, surged across the country.
But makers of nonmetallic mineral products are seeing light at the end of the tunnel, reporting that "the supply chain crunch may be loosening a bit."slipped versus a basket of currencies. Prices of longer-dated U.S. Treasuries fell.The economy grew at a 6.9% annualized rate in the fourth quarter, helping to boost overall growth in 2021 to 5.7%, the strongest performance since 1984.
A measure of order backlogs tumbled to 56.4%, the lowest since October 2020, from 62.8% in December, pointing to some easing in supply bottlenecks. That was reinforced by a gauge of supplier deliveries, which was little changed at 64.6. A reading above 50% indicates slower deliveries to factories.
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