On Aug. 1, the Institute for Supply Management released its U.S. Manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers’ index) data for July. The report noted that while U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in July, the growth rate was the weakest it’s been in the last three years.
At 51.2, the July manufacturing PMI was the lowest reading since August 2016 . In June, the PMI came in at 51.7. The July reading was lower than the 52.0 economists expected, according to the consensus compiled by Reuters.
IHS Markit also released its U.S. Manufacturing PMI Aug. 1. Its reading came in at 50.4, which was slightly better than the 50.0 market expectation. However, that reading implied the slowest pace of expansion since September 2009.