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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| US manufacturing activity shrinks | US manufacturing activity shrinks |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Gloomy reports on US manufacturing and construction have underlined the weakness of the US economy. | Gloomy reports on US manufacturing and construction have underlined the weakness of the US economy. |
| Factory activity shrank in February according to a report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). | |
| Its index for national factory activity fell to 48.3 in February. A reading below 50 indicates that the manufacturing sector is contracting. | Its index for national factory activity fell to 48.3 in February. A reading below 50 indicates that the manufacturing sector is contracting. |
| A separate report from the US Commerce Department showed that construction spending fell 1.7% in January. | |
| That was the steepest fall in spending for 14 years. | |
| Spending has been slashed on residential projects, but the latest report showed that there were cutbacks on commercial buildings such as hotels and highways. | |
| The report also showed that December's decline was worse than the initial estimate, with the fall revised down to 1.3% from 1.1%. | |
| While the report on manufacturing showed contraction, analysts thought the findings could have been worse. | |
| "The (ISM) report was bad, but not as bad as expected. People thought we were going to go off a cliff, especially after last week's reports, " said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research. |