The economic recovery gains momentum.
According to a report by Lucia Mutikani and Chris Reese from Reuters on September 1, 2009, from Washington and New York respectively, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) announced that the manufacturing sector experienced its first growth in 19 months in August, while the sales data for existing home contracts in July reached a two-year high. The U.S. economic recovery has gained strong momentum.
ISM reported that the national manufacturing index for August was 52.9, exceeding economists' previous expectations of 50.9. This marks the first growth since January 2008. An index above 50 indicates that manufacturing activity is in an expansion phase. The index for August is also at a high level not seen since June 2007.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released a report on the 1st, indicating that the existing home sales index rose from 94.6 in June to 97.6 in July, an increase of 3.2%, greater than the 2% anticipated by private sector analysts. This index has now risen for a record six consecutive months.
Bernard Baumohl, Chief Global Economist at The Economic Outlook Group, stated: “The data released by ISM and NAR are very valuable indicators of the U.S. economic recovery. These figures suggest that the U.S. has broken free from the shackles of the economic crisis and is on the path to recovery.”
On the 1st, President Barack Obama stated that the manufacturing sector has expanded for the first time in a year and a half, providing further evidence that the economy is moving towards recovery.
