"Hopefully this is an anomaly. This gives a pause in the recent bullish data we have been seeing"
- Craig Dismuke, chief economic strategist at Vining Sparks
The pace of expansion in the manufacturing sector slowed last month, due to the contraction in the number of new orders, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday. A gauge of national factory activity dropped to 51.3 from 54.2 the month before. Meanwhile, the new orders index fell to 51.4, down from 57.8. A measure of prices paid slid to 54.5 from 61.5, compared to expectations of 59.8. Earlier, financial data firm Markit said that its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index improved to 54.6 last month from 54.3 in February. Latest data are adding to signs that the world's largest economy is gaining pace and that measures taken by the Fed are working as the labour and the housing market are improving constantly.
"Hopefully this is an anomaly. This gives a pause in the recent bullish data we have been seeing," Craig Dismuke, chief economic strategist at Vining Sparks in Memphis, Tennessee.
"The economy is in a very good place right now ahead of the fiscal restraint," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York. "This recovery is sustainable. Consumers are in the driver's seat."
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