August data pointed to a further moderate upturn in business conditions across the U.S. manufacturing sector. However, the overall pace of improvement slowed since July amid weaker rises in new orders and payroll numbers. The latest survey also highlighted a sustained drop in inventory volumes among manufacturing firms. Meanwhile, input cost inflation remained subdued and average prices charged by manufacturers were broadly unchanged over the month. At 52.0 in August, the seasonally adjusted Markit final U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index™ (PMI™) dropped from 52.9 in July but remained comfortably above the neutral 50.0 value.