US: ISM Manufacturing PMI drops to 54.2 in February vs 55.5 expected

"The February PMI registered 54.2 percent, a decrease of 2.4 percentage points from the January reading of 56.6 percent," the ISM reported on Friday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• The New Orders Index registered 55.5 percent, a decrease of 2.7 percentage points from the January reading of 58.2 percent.
• The Production Index registered 54.8 percent, 5.7-percentage point decrease compared to the January reading of 60.5 percent.
• The Employment Index registered 52.3 percent, a decrease of 3.2 percentage points from the January reading of 55.5 percent.
• The Supplier Deliveries Index registered 54.9 percent, a 1.3 percentage point decrease from the January reading of 56.2 percent.
• The Inventories Index registered 53.4 percent, an increase of 0.6 percentage point from the January reading of 52.8 percent.
• The Prices Index registered 49.4 percent, a 0.2-percentage point decrease from the January reading of 49.6 percent, indicating lower raw materials prices for the second straight month after nearly three years of increases.