The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index fell to 50.8 in October from 51.6 the prior month, the Tempe, Arizona-based group said today. A reading of 50 is the dividing line between expansion and contraction in manufacturing. Economists projected the gauge would climb to 52, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates of the 85 economists ranged from 50.5 to 55. An index above 42.5 generally indicates an expansion in the overall economy.
Other figures today showed global manufacturing cooled last month. A Chinese factory index dropped to the lowest level since February 2009, while a U.K. manufacturing gauge declined to a 28-month low.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 50.4 in October from 51.2 in September, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in a statement today. The U.K. measure, based on a survey by Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, dropped to 47.4 from a revised 50.8 in September, according to an e-mailed report in London today.
