Regarding the overall economy, this figure indicates contraction after 30 straight months of expansion.

The manufacturing PMI figure is the lowest since May 2020, when it registered 43.5 per cent. The new orders index in December remained in contraction territory at 45.2 per cent compared to 47.2 per cent recorded in November.

The production index reading was 48.5 per cent during the month compared to November's 51.5 per cent. The prices index registered 39.4 per cent, down from November’s 43 per cent; this is the index's lowest reading since April 2020 (35.3 per cent).

The backlog of orders index registered 41.4 per cent in December compared to November’s 40 per cent. The inventories index registered 51.8 per cent compared to the previous month’s 50.9 per cent.

The new export orders index reading of 46.2 per cent was down 2.2 percentage points compared to November's 48.4 per cent, the Tempe, Arizona-based ISM said in a release.

The imports index continued in contraction territory at 45.1 per cent over November’s 46.6 per cent.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)