US industry slows: ISM

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2005

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US industrial sector slowed a touch in October after posting robust growth the previous month, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

The ISM manufacturing index slipped marginally to 59.1 percent from 59.4 percent in September, a month that had recorded a strong acceleration despite the impact of hurricanes on the US economy.

But the October figure in the ISM report, seen as a reliable gauge of the US factory sector, was still better than the level of 57.0 percent expected on Wall Street.

The ISM industrial index has now been above the 50-point mark that divides expansion from contraction for 29 months running.

ISM survey chief Norbert Ore said industrial activity remained well supported by growth in new...