At 10:00 AM EDT the US ISM Manufacturing Indices will be released. The Institute of Supply Management Manufacturing Index measures the activity level of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. In addition to the headline index, the ISM releases component indices for employment, production, new orders, supplier deliveries, prices paid and received, imports and exports, backlog orders and inventories. This month the expectation is for the ISM to be unchanged at 48.6. Last month the index also was unchanged. A reading below 50 will be the 4th month in a row where the index showed a contraction in Manufacturing.
The Prices Paid index which rose to 84.5 last month, the highest level since May 2004, is expected to rise to 85. In September 2007, the most recent bottom was recorded at 59.
