US manufacturing bounces back by less than expected in October, ISM says

Manufacturing sector activity improved a tad in October, but continued to contract at a quicker than expected pace.

The Institute of Supply Management's factory sector Purchasing Managers' Index rose from a reading of 47.8 for September to 48.3 in October (consensus: 49.0).

All of the survey respondents' comments which the ISM chose to highlight revealed weaker end demand, with several of them referencing the negative impact of global economic weakness and trade uncertainty as a key driver of soft activity.

The key sub-index which tracks new orders rose from 47.3 to 49.1, as did that for employment, which improved from 46.3 to 47.7, but both continued to reflect declines even if at a slower pace than in September.

Both for the headline PMI index as well as all of the subindices, the 50.0 point level marks the threshold between expansion and contraction, with successively higher or lower readings denoting faster or slower rates of increase.

A sub-index for new export orders on the other hand jumped from 41.0 to 50.4, although that tracking imports fell from 48.1 to 45.3.

Price pressures also contined to fall back, with a gauge of the prices paid by firms retreating from 49.7 to 45.5.