Markit Manufacturing PMI: Growth Dips in July

The July US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index conducted by Markit came in at 55.3, down slightly from the 55.4 final June figure. Markit's Manufacturing PMI is a diffusion index: A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector; below 50 indicates contraction.

Here is an excerpt from Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit in their latest press release:

“The US manufacturing sector continued to expand in July, but shows increasing signs of struggling against headwinds of supply shortages, rising prices and deteriorating exports." [Press Release]

Here is a snapshot of the series since mid-2012.

Here is an overlay with the equivalent PMI survey conducted by the Institute for Supply Management (see our full article on this series here, note that).

The next chart uses a three-month moving average of the two rather volatile series to facilitate our understanding of the current trend.