US manufacturing sector remains in sluggish state

The flash Markit US manufacturing PMI for February dropped to 51, as compared with January's final print of 52.4. The median consensus forecast was for a flat reading in February. The drop in the index was broad based, with nine of the twelve survey components declining. Output declined to 51.3, as compared with the earlier reading of 53.2. It is the weakest reading since 2012. Meanwhile, the new orders declined from 53.7 to 51.7.

New export orders returned to negative territory at 49.1 after recording modest growth for two months. Also, the employment component dropped from 52.8 to 51.5, implying that the job growth in manufacturing has been sluggish in February. This flash PMI data confirms that the manufacturing sector of the US continues to be in a sluggish state.