-RBC Capital Markets LLC
The US manufacturing sector expanded at a more moderate pace in April, partly due to a slowdown in new orders, but an increase in export orders to the highest level in more than a year offered hope for the sector. The Institute for Supply Management reported its index of factory activity slid to 50.8 last month, down from 51.8 in March. Despite the decline, April marked the second consecutive month of expansion and was the second highest reading in the last eight months. The US manufacturing sector has been struggling due to a strong US Dollar and moribund global demand. In addition to that, lower oil prices have derailed manufacturers tied to the energy industry.
Separately, the Commerce Department reported construction spending rose 0.3% in March to its highest level since October 2007, following an upwardly revised 1.0% gain in February. The US economic growth slowed to a 0.5% annualized rate in the first three months of the year. The revised February construction spending figures appeared to be much higher those used in the advance first-quarter GDP estimate. Economists predict GDP growth for the first three months of the year will be revised up to a 0.7% rate. Given a fairly strong labour market, which is anticipated to underpin tepid consumer spending, economists expect gross domestic product growth to rebound in the second quarter.
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