More evidence of rising prices...
The manufacturing sector grew at its fastest pace in nearly seven years in January and signs of inflation jumped more than expected as a recovery in the world's biggest economy gained traction.
The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing survey released on Tuesday also showed employers were thinking about ramping up hiring, one of the weak spots of the recovery so far, and helped push U.S. stock prices to their highest since June 2008.
Friday's closely watched U.S. payrolls report is expected to show the economy added jobs for a fourth straight month in January but still not at the rate needed to make a big reduction in unemployment.
