U.S. February Manufacturing data declines. Construction Spending down.

March 3, 2008 - Forex Economic News

U.S. manufacturing activity declined 2.4 percent in the month of February according to a report released today by the Institute for Supply Management. The Manufacturing ISM Report On Business showed that its index for manufacturing activity fell to 48.3 in February down from 50.7 in January. A score of less than 50 means that the manufacturing sector has contracted or decreased in output for that month. The manufacturing index showed that the economy has grown for 76 straight months but that the growth is slowing. Read the full report here.

U.S. Construction Spending edged down in January as spending was down for the fourth month in a row. The U.S. Commerce Department released data today that showed construction spending decreased 1.7 percent in January and reached the lowest level in more than two years. The market expectations were for a 0.7 percent fall in construction spending. Overall, Residential construction spending was down 2.9 percent in January from December and had registered a 19.4 percent drop since January 2007. Total Private construction spending fell 2.2 percent for January and registered a 6.4 percent decline since January 2007. Total Public construction spending declined 0.2 percent in January but showed a 6.6 percent increase in spending from January 2007.

Tags: construction spending, ism manufacturing data, commerce department, institute for supply management

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