2026.01.0515:06:40UTC+00ISM Manufacturing PMI Below Forecasts

The ISM Manufacturing PMI for the United States declined for the third month straight, reaching 47.9 in December 2025—the lowest point since October 2024. This is a decrease from November's 48.2 and is below the forecasted 48.3. This indicator reflects a more rapid contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity, primarily driven by declines in production (down to 51 from 51.4) and inventories (falling to 45.2 from 48.9), following earlier increases in November, which underscores prevailing economic uncertainty in manufacturing. Price pressures also remained high, steadying at 58.5. Conversely, there were improvements in new orders (rising to 47.7 from 47.4), backlog of orders (up to 45.8 from 44), new export orders (climbing to 46.8 from 46.2), and the customers’ inventories index, although still in the 'too low' category, improved slightly (to 43.3 from 44.7). While these are encouraging signs for December, sustained improvements over several months are essential for a longer-term recovery. Additionally, the employment index showed a contraction at a slower rate, improving to 44.9 from 44.