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2005 U.S. Economic Events & Analysis
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ISM Non-Mfg Survey
Definition
The non-manufacturing ISM surveys nearly 400 firms from 60 sectors across the United States, including agriculture, mining, construction, transportation, communications, wholesale trade and retail trade. Financial market players monitor the business activity index, because a composite index, like its manufacturing cousin, is not compiled by the ISM. Why Investors Care

Released on 6/3/05 For May 2005
Business Activity Index, Level
 Actual 58.5  
 Consensus 61.0  
 Consensus Range 58.0  to  62.5  

Highlights
The Institute For Supply Management's non-manufacturing business activity index fell sharply in May, the latest in a domino series of declines in business surveys.

The index fell to 58.5 in May vs. 61.7 in April. This is the lowest reading in two years.

Many sub-indexes, however, showed less if any weakness. Remember the ISM's non-manufacturing index, in contrast to its manufacturing index, is not a composite index, only the sum to a single question.

New orders actually rose as did backlogs, both pointing to strengthening conditions ahead. Employment was also higher.

But prices did dip to 57.9 from 61.9, an indication of softening demand.

The results, which are a bit blurry, had little effect on the financial markets, which are still digesting the morning's employment report.

Market Consensus Before Announcement
The business activity index from the ISM non-manufacturing survey fell back to 61.7 in April. Manufacturing activity has moderated more sharply in May, but we haven't yet seen any figures on the non-manufacturing sector.

Business activity index Consensus Forecast for May 05: 61
Range: 58 to 62.5
Trends
[Chart] The ISM non-manufacturing survey does not compile a composite index like its manufacturing cousin. The business activity index, which is actually akin to the production index in the manufacturing survey, is widely followed as the key figure from this survey.
Data Source: Haver Analytics

2005 Release Schedule
Released On: 1/5 2/3 3/3 4/1 5/4 6/3 7/6 8/3 9/6 10/5 11/3 12/5
Released For: Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov


 
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