P.M. BRIEFING : Index Shows 3-Month Decline

A widely watched survey of the nation’s industrial purchasing managers found the economy declined in December for the third consecutive month, the purchasing managers group said today.

“The final quarter of the 1990 economy ended on a somber note--the first declining quarter since the previous recession,” said Robert J. Bretz, chairman of the National Assn. of Purchasing Management’s Business Survey Committee.

The group represents chief purchasing executives at more than 300 industrial companies.

The group’s monthly purchasing managers index, which is based on surveys of those executives, declined to 40.4% in December, down from 41.3% in November. The December figure is the lowest since the trough of the last recession, November, 1982, when it stood at 39.2%.

An index reading below 50% indicates that the nation’s manufacturing economy generally is declining. Readings below 44% indicate a decline in the overall economy, the group said. The index has been below 44% since October.