Market Wrap – ISM Number Not As Bad As Feared

The United States ISM Manufacturing reading for the month of July came in at 52.8 this afternoon, which helped lift market sentiment as it was not as bad as feared, but overall it was not a terrible number.

Accordingly, the US July Manufacturing PMI reading of 52.8 from the ISM survey was probably the reading that everyone was concerned about after Europe’s soggy PMI data this morning.

Breaking down the data it was better than the 52.0 expected, but worse than the previous 53.0 reading. This was basically a middle of the road number for markets.

Prices paid was a big reading also today and the 60.0 vs 75.0 expected reading did not sink the market despite it being fourth largest decline on record. The previous month had a 78.5 print.

New orders came in at 48.0 vs 49.2. In any case, this report is what the Fed would have hoped to see as it does not hint at a huge slowdown in manufacturing.

Interestingly the report said “The slowing in price increases is being driven by (1) volatility in the energy markets, (2) softening in the copper, steel, aluminium and corrugate markets and (3) a significant decrease in chemical demand. Notably, 21.5% of respondents reported paying lower prices in July, compared to 8.3 percent in June.”

Other interesting comments in the report stated that “Material extended lead times still affecting business, and the challenging labour market is a huge factor too. Backlog is healthy; we just cannot deliver to customers due to material issues.”

And touching upon price inflation inside the report “Inflation is slowing down business. Overstock of raw materials due to prior supply chain issues and slowing orders.”

The immediate market reaction saw US stocks moving higher and a continuation of the US dollar move over recent days. Which is basically a downside correction with a bull market.

In terms of the foreign exchange market the USDJPY pair is the biggest mover of the day. Possibly this is due to bond yields and growing inflation in Japan.

Gold prices have been moving sharply higher over recent days and the upmove showed no signs of stopping today. So far, the run has extended towards the $1,780 area.