The US manufacturing sector suffered a setback in April as new orders decreased for the first time in 2024 so far. Work on outstanding business helped to keep production in growth territory, however, while firms continued to take on extra staff, in part due to positive expectations for the coming months. Manufacturers scaled back their purchasing activity in response to lower new orders, with pre-production inventories also down. Meanwhile, output prices increased at a slower pace but the rate of input cost inflation quickened to hint at sustained near-term upward pressure on selling prices. The seasonally adjusted ... (full story)