According to the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) Monday Economic Report for this week, U.S. manufacturing appears to be contracting at a slower rate.   The S&P Global Flash US Manufacturing PMI rose from 47.3 in September to 47.8 in October, the rate of deterioration moderating to the slowest since August. The largest negative contribution to the PMI again came from new orders and unsold inventories. 

Suppliers’ delivery times lengthened for the first time in three months.  However, thanks to lower fuel prices, manufacturing input cost growth cooled to a seven-month low.