The United States’ manufacturing sector grew at its slowest speed in half a year, according to a financial research firm’s flash PMI survey.
Markit’s PMI, based on 85 per cent of respondents to its April Purchasing Managers Index survey, showed an overall score of 52.0 for April, down from 54.6 in March.
The US results showed a growth in employment for the sector in the month, though this was less rapid than in March.
This follows HSBC flash PMI results from China, suggesting that its manufacturing output is at a two-month low.
Some economists have said that the US result is part of an overall gloom in its economy.
"While this week's first quarter GDP numbers may… bring some brighter news on the economy, the picture looks to have already begun to darken again, with GDP growth set to weaken in the second quarter," Markit’s Chris Williamson told the BBC.
Jim O’Sullivan, High Frequency Economics’s chief US economist, noted that the overall economic results for the month demonstrated a slowing, but this was not disastrous.
"The numbers are not suggesting that the economy is surging, but none of them are really showing that the economy is falling off the cliff," he told Reuters.
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