- Prelim was 48.9
- Prior was 47.9
- New orders fell for the fifth month running in September, albeit at the slowest pace in this period
- Expectations for future output also rose, hitting the highest since April 2022
- Production returned to expansion
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said:
"September saw a welcome near-stabilization of business conditions in manufacturing, but a further increase in price pressures is a concern on the inflation front. “
Output reversed some of the loss seen in August as higher employment and improved supply availability helped factories fulfil backlogs of orders. “Although the pace of production growth remains disappointingly subdued thanks to a further decline in new orders received during the month, notably from weak export markets, there are signs that the situation will improve as we head through to the end of the year.
“Manufacturers’ expectations of future output have jumped to their highest for nearly one and a half years, supply conditions continue to improve, and the rate of order book decline has moderated considerably in recent months, in part due to fewer producers and customers reporting deliberate cost-focused inventory reduction policies.
“Less encouraging was the news on the inflation outlook, as producers’ costs rose at the fastest rate for five months, largely on the back of higher oil prices. These increased costs are already feeding through to higher prices to customers, which will inevitably result in some renewed upward pressure on inflation.”
The ISM reading is due at the top of the hour.
I've been writing for months about a likely end to the manufacturing recession and it's increasingly clear in the data.