the slump in us manufacturing activity deepened in may marking a seventh straight month of contraction amid greater business uncertainty according to survey data released thursday the fresh figures from the institute for supply management ism will provide the us federal reserve with additional evidence of an economic slowdown as it mulls how best to respond to abovetarget inflation the may ism figure came in at 469 percent 02 percentage point lower than the 471 percent recorded in april the ism said in a statement this was lower than the median forecast of economists surveyed by marketwatch a reading below 50 percent indicates that us manufacturing is generally contracting the lower figure for may visavis april indicates the contraction in manufacturing is getting deeper members of the feds ratesetting committee are divided over whether to hike interest rates for an 11th time on june 1314 to bring inflation back down to the banks longrun target of two percent amid signs of an economic slowdown some members have suggested the us central bank should skip an increase this time to allow for more time to look at the impact of existing hikes on the economy the may composite index reading reflects companies continuing to manage outputs to better match demand for the first half of 2023 and prepare for growth in the late summerearly fall period ism business survey committee chair timothy fiore said in a statement however there is clearly more business uncertainty in may he added