US manufacturing improves in July, outlook clouded by Covid-19 pandemic

US manufacturing improved again in July with a key gauge of activity rising further into expansion territory. The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, said Monday that its manufacturing index rose to 54.2 last month, up from a June reading of 52.6.

Any reading above 50 signas that US manufacturing is expanding.The index dipped below 50 in March, indicating a recession in manufacturing as the coronavirus pandemic shut down factories.

The overall economy fell into a recession in February and the government reported last week that the gross domestic product plunged at an annual rate