US manufacturing in surprise jump

The growth did not just come from the car industry, analysts say

The US manufacturing sector grew more strongly than expected in April as companies that had run down their stock began to order more products.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index rose to 54.7 in April from March's figure of 50.9.

Any figure over 50 shows that the manufacturing sector is expanding.

The data may help to ease concerns that the world's biggest economy is slowing significantly amid a weakening housing market and higher interest rates.

Turning point?

The ISM figure was expected to be barely changed at about 51.

"The manufacturing reading was very strong and potentially indicates a turning point," said Pierre Ellis of Decision Economics.

"The important message is it's not strictly the automobile industry. It's a wide swath of industries experiencing growth," he added.

However, there were concerns about price growth, however.

It had been hoped that the price inflation figure would fall from March's level of 65.5, but instead it rose to 73.