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Reports indicate economy stumbling

Tuesday, April 1, 2003 | 9:35 a.m.

U.S. manufacturing contracted in March for the first time in five months as orders and production declined, an industry survey showed today, suggesting the economy stumbled at the end of the first quarter.

The Institute for Supply Management's factory index last month fell to 46.2, the lowest since November 2001, about the time most economists say the economy started to emerge from recession. In February, the index was 50.5. A reading less than 50 means business is contracting.

Factories are pulling back as consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy, stalled in the months leading up to the Iraq war and confidence dropped to a nine-year low.

Also today, the Commerce Department said construction spending dropped 0.2 percent in February for the first time in six months as snowstorms in the Northeast and Midwest delayed building.

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