U.S. factory activity retreated at a slightly sharper pace this month, as production fell into contraction, according to a survey of manufacturing firms.

The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its purchasing managers’ index of manufacturing activity fell to 48.7 in October from 49.1 in September. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected the index to edge up to 49.3.

With the reading still below 50, it points to contraction in activity in the sector for the eighth month in a row, though a score above 42.3 on the index generally tallies with expansion in the wider U.S. economy.

“In October, U.S. manufacturing activity contracted at a faster rate, with contractions in production and inventories,” said Susan Spence, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. ——Wall Street Journal