US manufacturing rebounds in February from 14-month low

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US manufacturing growth gained pace in February, bouncing back from its lowest level in 14 months in January, according to a report by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Tuesday.

The ISM manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) increased to 58.6% in February.

The reading is a gain of 1 percentage point from the January figure of 57.6% -- its lowest since November 2020.

The market expectation was for it to come in at 58% in February.

"This figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the 21st month in a row after a contraction in April and May 2020," ISM said in a statement.

While a reading above 50 indicates growth, below that level shows contraction.

The production index rose to 58.5%, an increase of 0.7 percentage points from the January reading of 57.8%, according to ISM.

The new orders index increased to 61.7% in February, up 3.8 percentage points compared to the previous month's reading of 57.9%.

The employment index, however, stood at 52.9% -- 1.6 percentage points lower than the January reading of 54.5%.