A report has shown that the US manufacturing sector showed signs of emerging from its slump in June.
The US Institute of Supply Management said its index of the sector, also known as the purchasing managers (PMI) index, increased to 44.8 from 42.8 in May.
It was below the 50 level that separates expansion and contraction, and just under the 45 expected by economists.
Earlier, a survey showed that US private companies shed 473,000 jobs in June. The figure, from employment firm ADP, was worse than the 395,000 expected by most analysts but lower than 485,000 in May, which was revised down by 47,000 from the previous 532,000 figure.
Monthly employment losses in April, May, and June averaged 492,000, a notable improvement over the first three months of the year, when monthly losses averaged 691,000, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report.
'Nevertheless, despite some recent indications that economic activity is stabilising, employment, which usually trails overall economic activity, is likely to decline for at least several more months, although perhaps not as rapidly as during the last six months,' ADP said.
