U.S. manufacturing activity exceeded expectations, but factory employment fell to a six-year low

Odaily Planet Daily News Driven by companies placing orders in advance to avoid shortages and price increases, manufacturing activity in the U.S. expanded again in June, but factory employment fell to a six-year low, mainly affected by the Middle East conflict raising operating costs.

The U.S. June S&P Global Manufacturing PMI preliminary value rose from 55.1 in May to 55.7, the highest level since May 2022, while economists surveyed by Reuters had expected the index to fall to 54.8. The rise in manufacturing PMI, coupled with the services PMI preliminary value rising from 50.7 in May to 51.3, pushed the composite PMI output index up from 51.5 last month to 52.2. The recovery in services PMI is partly attributed to the World Cup jointly hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. (Jin Shi)