Manufacturing ended eight-month slide in April

摘要

Manufacturers paid lower prices for their materials for the ninth consecutive month. The price index for April was 40.1 percent, compared with 39.5 percent in March. The price of steel dropped for the ninth time in the past ten months, and steel scrap fell for the fourth time in six months. Prices for stainless steel and aluminum also decreased. The production index in April increased to 52.1 percent from 46.6 percent in March, the first time this index has indicated production growth since Sept. 1995. New orders also increased for the first time since September, with this index rising to 53.8 percent from 49.7 percent in March. The index for new export orders was 51.4 percent. compared with 50.4 percent in the month before.