Despite Recession (/sarc), ISM Non-Manufacturing Index Stays in Expansion Mode, Beats Expectations
The Non-Manufacturing Index (NMI) issued by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) came in at 51.7% for May. Any reading above 50% indicates expansion. NMI includes the problematic housing and financial services sectors.
That’s a slight drop from April’s 52.0%, but it beat Thomson News’s expectations of 51.0%.
13 of the 17 industries tracked reported growth. Two of them were Real Estate and Construction.
The weighted average of the ISM indices for May (15% for Manufacturing, which came in at 49.6%, and 85% for NMI) is 51.4%, a tiny drop from last month’s 51.5%. The economy as a whole continues to expand, though not briskly, or even in my view satisfactorily.
This nugget from the Thomson report should also be noted:
The old ISM headline index, business activity, rose to 53.6 from the 50.9 reading in April. That’s the highest reading for this index since December 2007.
Cool.
