Money world

New signs of economic recovery emerged Tuesday only to be overshadowed by new worries that they won’t last.

The U.S. manufacturing sector grew in August for the first time in 19 months. A gauge of future house sales surged in July to its highest point in more than two years. And auto sales — boosted by the Cash for Clunkers program — appeared in August to have marked their first year-over-year monthly gain since October 2007.

Yet hopes for a sustained recovery remain clouded by a big concern: consumer spending, which fuels about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

Analysts noted that the manufacturing and housing gains were boosted by temporary government stimulus steps, including Cash for Clunkers, which has since expired. The program helped lift sales at Ford, Toyota and Honda in August, though Chrysler Group and General Motors Co. withstood another month of falling sales.

At the same time, the National Association of Realtors said its seasonally adjusted index of sales contracts signed in July for previously occupied houses rose 3.2 percent to 97.6. It was the sixth straight increase and 12 percent above the same month last year.

The better-than-expected report from the Institute for Supply Management showed the highest number for its manufacturing index since June 2007. New customer orders jumped to a level not seen since late 2004.

Most manufacturers are simply restocking depleted stockpiles of goods — a process that will run its course within six months, said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Research. Beyond that, it’s hard to say how much the sector can expand as long as credit for consumers and businesses remains tight. If loans remain out of reach for many, shoppers and companies can’t spend and grow.

The ISM, a trade group of purchasing executives, said its manufacturing index rose to 52.9 in August, from 48.9 in July. That was its first reading above 50, which indicates expansion, since January 2008. The index has been trending lower since a peak reading this decade of 61.4, in May 2004.

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