US S&P Global Manufacturing PMI improves to 48.9, Services PMI declines to 50.2 in September

• US private sector’s business activity nearly stagnated in early September.
• US Dollar Index holds steady near 105.50 after PMI data.

S&P Global Manufacturing PMI improved to 48.9 in early September from 47.9 in August, pointing to an ongoing contraction in the manufacturing sector’s business activity at a softening pace. The Services PMI edged lower to 50.2 from 50.5 in the same period and the Composite PMI arrived at 50.1, down slightly from 50.2 in August.

Commenting on PMI surveys’ findings, “PMI data for September added to concerns regarding the trajectory of demand conditions in the US economy following interest rate hikes and elevated inflation,” said Siân Jones, Principal Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“Although the overall Output Index remained above the 50.0 mark, it was only fractionally so, with a broad stagnation in total activity signalled for the second month running,” Jones added and said that the service sector lost further momentum, with the contraction in new orders gaining speed. 

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index edged slightly lower after these data and was last seen gaining 0.1% on the day at 105.48.