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US: Markit Services PMI falls to 54.2 in January from 54.4 in December

"The seasonally adjusted final IHS Markit U.S. Services Business Activity Index registered 54.2 in January, down slightly from 54.4 in December," the IHS Markit reported on Tuesday.

Key takeaways from the press release

  • New business received by service providers continued to increase at a solid rate.
  • Price pressures eased in January, with the rate of input price inflation softening to a 22-month low.
  • Employment growth was the second-slowest since June 2017 (behind November 2018).
  • Business activity expectations picked up in January, with the degree of optimism rising since December.
  • The Composite PMI Output Index posted 54.4 in January, matching that seen in December. 

Author

Eren Sengezer

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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