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The final reading of the U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers index from IHS Markit was adjusted slightly downward, to a reading of 57.7 from the “flash” reading of 57.8. This is below November’s level of 58.3.
Sian Jones, senior economist at IHS Markit, said material shortages and supplier delays dragged down the index.
New orders rose at the slowest pace for a year. This was linked to a reluctance at customers to place orders before inventories were worked through.
Backlogs of work rose sharply but was still the slowest in ten months.
There was some relief on cost pressures, which rose at the slowest pace for six months. And manufacturing firms saw softer increases in selling prices as they tried to get new orders.
Stocks
DJIA,
SPX,
opened higher on Monday on optimism that the omicron variant would not derail the economy.
