The Institute for Supply Management released a report on Tuesday showing a slight increase by its reading on U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of August, although the index still indicated the sixth consecutive month of contraction.
While the ISM said its manufacturing PMI inched up to 48.7 in August after falling to a nine-month low of 48.0 in July, a reading below 50 still indicates contraction.
The modest rebound by the headline index partly reflected a turnaround by new orders, as the new orders index jumped to 51.4 in August from 47.1 in July.
The ISM also said the employment index crept up to 43.8 in August from 43.4 in July but posted its seventh consecutive month of contraction.
On the other hand, the report showed a downturn by production, with the production index slumping to 47.8 in August from 51.4 in July.