ISM Manufacturing PMI unchanged at 46.7 in November vs. 47.6 expected

• ISM Manufacturing PMI remained at 46.7 in November. 
• US Dollar Index trimmed daily gains and fell to 103.50. 

The economic activity in the US manufacturing contracted in November, for the 12th consecutive month, with the ISM Manufacturing PMI at 46.7, unchanged from October. This reading came in worse than the market expectation of 47.6.

Key takeaways from the report:

The Manufacturing PMI® registered 46.7 percent in November, unchanged from the 46.7 percent recorded in October. The overall economy continued in contraction for a second month after one month of weak expansion preceded by nine months of contraction and a 30-month period of expansion before that.

The New Orders Index remained in contraction territory at 48.3 percent, 2.8 percentage points higher than the figure of 45.5 percent recorded in October. 

The Production Index reading of 48.5 percent is a 1.9-percentage point decrease compared to October’s figure of 50.4 percent. 

The Prices Index registered 49.9 percent, up 4.8 percentage points compared to the reading of 45.1 percent in October. 

The Backlog of Orders Index registered 39.3 percent, 2.9 percentage points lower than the October reading of 42.2 percent. 

The Employment Index registered 45.8 percent, down 1 percentage point from the 46.8 percent reported in October.

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index pulled back modestly after the ISM report, falling toward the 103.50 area. However, EUR/USD remained near daily lows at 1.0850.