US manufacturing’s contraction eased in December, according to the ISM Manufacturing Index. The survey-based indicator rose to 49.3 last month, the highest since March. Despite the improvement, the index remains below the neutral 50 mark and has reflected contraction for 25 of the past 26 months. Meanwhile, analysts at ING advise that “US manufacturing shows encouraging signs of life… after languishing for much of the past two years.”
