U.S. Manufacturing Sector Contracts In November

Manufacturing unexpectedly contracted in November to its lowest level in more than three years, as companies worried about whether lawmakers in Washington could reach a budget deal in time avert a crisis that many fear could lead to a recession.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Monday that its index of national factory activity fell to 49.5 in November from 51.7 the month before. The reading was shy of expectations of 51.3, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

The figure was the softest since July 2009 when the U.S. economy was struggling in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Economists said the November slide may have been aggravated by Superstorm Sandy, which devastated the U.S. east coast in late October, as well as uncertainty over budget negotiations in Washington.

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