WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The expansion of U.S. manufacturing sector accelerated in November compared with October, data released Monday by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed.
According to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business, the November purchasing managers' index, which gauges the performance of the manufacturing sector, registered 59.3 percent, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from the October reading of 57.7 percent.
The expansion in the manufacturing sector, which is often signaled by a PMI reading above 50 percent, "indicates growth in manufacturing for the 27th consecutive month, led by strong new orders, production output and continued slowing supplier delivery performance," said Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM's Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
Of all the 11 indicators tracked by the IMS, four illustrated decrease in growth rate month-on-month, with the sharpest decline occurring in the price index, down 10.9 percentage points to 60.7 percent. It indicated an increase in raw materials prices for the 33rd consecutive month, but at the lowest monthly rate since June 2017, the report said.
Furthermore, the new orders index was up 4.7 percentage points to 62.1 percent, recording its highest value since August 2018; the production index rose 0.7 percentage points to 60.6 percent; the employment index jumped 1.6 percentage points to 58.4 percent, according to the report.
The November PMI figure corresponded to a 4.9-percent increase in real gross domestic product on an annualized basis, the report added.
