By Jill Mislinski
On Jan. 3, the Institute for Supply Management published its monthly Manufacturing Report for December. The latest headline Purchasing Managers Index ((PMI)) was 47.2, a decrease of 0.9 percent from 48.1 the previous month. The headline number was below the Investing.com forecast of 49 percent.
Here is the key analysis from the report:
"The December PMI® registered 47.2 percent, a decrease of 0.9 percentage point from the November reading of 48.1 percent. This is the PMI®'s lowest reading since June 2009, when it registered 46.3 percent. The New Orders Index registered 46.8