(Sharecast News) - Factory sector activity in the US slowed a tad further last month, amid multiple reports of fewer orders or softer demand from various subsectors, the results of a closely followed survey showed.

Price pressures however did cool.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing sector Purchasing Managers' Index dipped to 48.5 following a reading of 48.7 for May.

Economists had anticipated a print of 49.1.

A key sub-index tracking new orders did improve, from 45.4 to 49.3, but that lined to levels of production slipped from 50.2 to 48.5.

Both for the headline as well as all the main subindices, the 50 point level marked the threshold between an expansion and a contraction.

The gauge for Employment fell from 51.1 to 49.3 while that for Prices retreated from 57.0 to 52.1.

-- More to follow --