US manufacturing activity grows beyond expectations, but factory employment hits six-year low

According to Odaily, driven by companies placing orders ahead of time to prevent shortages and price hikes, U.S. manufacturing activity expanded again in June, but factory employment fell to a six-year low, mainly due to rising operational costs caused by the Middle East conflict.

The U.S. June S&P Global Manufacturing PMI flash reading rose to 55.7 from 55.1 in May, the highest level since May 2022, while economists polled by Reuters had expected the index to fall to 54.8. The rise in manufacturing PMI, along with the services PMI flash reading climbing to 51.3 from 50.7 in May, pushed the composite PMI output index up to 52.2 from last month's 51.5. The recovery in the services PMI is partly attributed to the jointly hosted World Cup event by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. (Jinshi Data)