U.S. manufacturing sector contracts in December, ending 10 growth months

NEW YORK -- The U.S. manufacturing economy contracted in December, ending a streak of 10 consecutive months of growth, a private research group said Wednesday.

The Institute for Supply Management, a Tempe, Ariz.-based private research group, said its manufacturing index registered 47.7 last month, down nearly 3 percentage points from the 50.8 recorded in November. A reading above 50 indicates growth; below that spells contraction.

The December results were weaker than the 50.9 expected by analysts polled by Thomson/IFR Markets.