PURCHASING FIGURES OFF AND RUNNING

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 2, 1993                   TAG: 9302020105
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: CHICAGO                                LENGTH: Short
PURCHASING FIGURES OFF AND RUNNING
The stronger-than-anticipated jump in the National Association of Purchasing Management's January index suggested the U.S. recovery may be picking up speed, analysts said Monday.
The index rose to 58 percent from December's revised 55.4 percent.
A number above 50 percent is considered a sign of expansion in the manufacturing economy. A number below that level is seen as indicating a slowing in the manufacturing economy.
The purchasing managers' report is a survey of 300 purchasing managers in 21 industries in all 50 states.
The gain in the employment index in the purchasers' survey was of particular significance, said David Wyss, economist at DRI/McGraw-Hill in Lexington, Mass. It reflects a manufacturing jobs sector that appears to be recovering from recent layoffs and also implies stronger overall January jobs data, he said.
Michael Niemira at Mitsubishi Bank in New York also said the overall report is "an indication that the momentum in the manufacturing sector is continuing to build."
Fred Sturm at Fuji International Securities Inc. in Chicago saw the report as a good sign for the economy in nearly all categories. He said manufacturers are "finally seeing enough evidence to get out of their bunkers and start building."
The average level of the national purchasing managers' index between 1983 and 1990 was 53.6.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB