span>span>Tuesday 5th December 2023/span>span> - 15:22 (GMT)/span>/span>
The U.S. services sector bucked the recent trend lower during November, amid an acceleration in growth of new orders.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed that its non-manufacturing PMI accelerated to a three-month high of 52.7, increasing sharply from Octobers reading of 51.8. The Services PMI has been declining since August, when it rose to the highest level in six months.
A reading above 50 indicates growth in the services industry, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the US economy. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index growing to 52.
Demand for services initially surged as Americans resumed normal lives after COVID-19 lockdowns. But momentum has recently ebbed, with spending swinging back to goods. Spending on goods far outpaced outlays on services in the third quarter.
The services sector is at the heart of the Federal Reserve's battle to bring inflation down to its 2% target. Services prices are less responsive to interest rate hikes. A measure of prices paid for services businesses for inputs dipped to 58.3 from 58.6 in October.
USD demand immediately softened following the news as pressure on the Feds need to increase base rates continues to fall.
