-Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit
Growth of business activity in the US manufacturing sector accelerated in February at the fastest pace since November, rebounding from the lowest level in a year in the preceding month. Markit's flash manufacturing PMI climbed to 54.3 in February, compared with the January's final reading of 53.9. The output sub-index picked up to 56 in the reported month from January's 55.7 final reading, marking the second straight monthly increase and highest reading since October, while the employment sub-index fell to 51.7 from the previous month's 53.4. It was the slowest rate of employment growth in the manufacturing sector since July. Input prices also fell for the second consecutive month.
This Tuesday Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen testifies before the Congress, giving investors a chance to look for hints over when the central bank is likely to start hiking short-term interest rates. In the minutes from FOMC January meeting released last Wednesday, Fed policy makers appeared to be a bit less willing to lift rates than investors had expected. However, the meeting took place almost a month ago, before the release of January employment report that overshot expectations. Yet, the majority of market analysts still anticipate a lift-off of US rates in June.
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