America's manufacturing industry managed to pick up the pace of its expansion last month, strengthening expectations that the world's largest economy enjoyed a better first quarter than many expected.
An index of manufacturing confidence from the Institute for Supply Management rose to 51.6 last month from 50.6 in August
A survey of activity at US manufacturers climbed to 53.4 in March from 52.4 in February, according to the Institute for Supply Management. That beat forecasts for a reading of 53, on an index where anything above 50 signals expansion.
Although manufacturing now accounts for little more than 10pc of US gross domestic product, it's been one of the most consistent parts of the economy since the US emerged from recession in the middle of 2009.
The figures from the ISM for March also echo other data - particularly from the country's jobs market - that suggest the economy strengthened in the first three months of the year.
"A better than expected report with the encouragement coming from the details," said David Semmens, an economist at Standard Chartered.
Among the survey's 10 separate indices, a jump in the employment measure to 56.1 in March from 53.2 in February caught economists' attention ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report for March. The report is expected to show that just over 200,000 Americans found work last month.
However, there was also a reminder today that the construction industry, which enjoyed a spectacular boom until 2007, remains some distance from recovery. Construction spending fell 1.1pc in February, the Commerce Department said, following a 0.8pc decline in January.
"Construction was much weaker than expected," said Chris Low, an economist at FTN Financial. It suggests that "either construction employment could be revised lower or construction employment could fall outright in March".
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