U.S. manufacturing activity probably improved in October

Regional manufacturing surveys, combined with Markit Economics' canvass of 600 firms nationwide, suggest that the Institute for Supply  Management's (ISM) activity barometer in United States probably climbed by 1.3 points to a three-month high of 51.5 in October, reversing a portion of the slide recorded over the July-September span. 

With the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) update on the employment situation slated for release at the end of the week, the factory hiring gauge likely will receive considerable attention in the ISM report. Data in hand point to a modest dip in that barometer to a six-month low of 50.3 in October. 

On the inflation front, reports of falling input costs probably narrowed during the reference period, but at a projected 39.5, the ISM prices-paid diffusion index is expected to remain well below the level associated with stable quotes, argues Societe Generale.