US: ISM Manufacturing PMI unchanged at 52.8 in August vs. 52 expected

• US ISM Manufacturing PMI stayed unchanged at 52.8 in August.
• US Dollar Index climbed to a fresh multi-decade high after the data.

The ISM Manufacturing PMI arrived at 52.8 in August, showing that the business activity continued to expand at the same pace as it did in July. This data came in better than the market expectation of 52.

Key takeaways

"The New Orders Index registered 51.3%, 3.3 percentage points higher than the 48% recorded in July."

"The Production Index reading of 50.4% is a 3.1-percentage point decrease compared to July's figure of 53.5%."

"The Prices Index registered 52.5%, down 7.5 percentage points compared to the July figure of 60%; this is the index's lowest reading since June 2020 (51.3%)."

"The Backlog of Orders Index registered 53%, 1.7 percentage points above the July reading of 51.3%".

"After three straight months of contraction, the Employment Index expanded at 54.2%, 4.3 percentage points higher than the 49.9% recorded in July."

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index extended its daily rally after this data and was last seen trading at its strongest level in nearly two decades at 109.68.