America’s Factory Recession Likely Over. Cue Higher Prices

The marquee gauge of US factory activity printed well ahead of estimates on Thursday, suggesting an imminent end to a 15-month malaise. At 49.1, the headline ISM manufacturing index now sits at its best level since October of 2022, even as January marked another month below the 50 demarcation line that separates expansion from contraction. Consensus expected 47.2 from the headline. The range of estimates, from more than five-dozen economists, was 43 to 49.5. The final read on S&P Global