US: Markit Manufacturing PMI drops to 49.2 in March (preliminary) vs. 42.8 expected

The activity in the US manufacturing sector is expected to contract at a soft pace in March with the IHS Markit's preliminary Manufacturing PMI dropping to 49.2 from 50.7 in February. This reading came in much better than the market expectation of 42.8.

On the other hand, the Services PMI slumped to 39.1 from 49.4 and missed analysts' estimate of 42. Finally, the Composite PMI dropped to 40.5 from 49.6 in February.

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index showed a mixed reaction to these reading and was last seen at 101.65, erasing 0.8% on the day.