Credit markets continue to loosen
National Association of Credit Management's Credit Managers Index rises for the fourth straight month
By Purchasing Staff -- Purchasing, 6/18/2009 2:00:00 AM
The National Association of Credit Management's Credit Managers Index rose for the fourth straight month in May, indicating that credit conditions in the U.S. continue to loosen.
In its May report, NACM reported that the seasonally adjusted (CMI) rose to 45.5 after increasing 1.3% in April and 2.5% in February and 0.5% in March.
According to NACM officials, the CMI began to show some upward movement in February and has increased now for four straight months. As reported on Purchasing.com, in April the CMI rose 1.3% after rising by 2.5% in February and 0.5% in March.
"The index is certainly moving in the right direction and is now only a few points away from breaking above the 50-point threshold that would indicate expansion as opposed to contraction," said Chris Kuehl, NACM economist, who made an even bolder prediction in the latest NACM report.
"The recession essentially came to an end in February and March. The CMI data, combined with various other measures, suggest that the economy finally reached its lowest point and has been in the recovery stage since."
NACM's says the manufacturing sector's index is up slightly to 45.3, it's highest point since September. But manufacturing still has some major hurdles to overcome, most notably the increase in bankruptcies over the past several months, which has slowed, but continues.
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