PT Solid Gold Berjangka | US Services Activity Contracts at Fastest Pace in Four Years
Ekonomi AS sektor jasa ISM SERVICES PMI PT SGB Solid Group SG Berjangka Solid Gold Berjangka
Solid Gold Berjangka | The U.S. service sector contracted at the fastest pace in four years in January, driven by a significant pullback in business activity and a decline in orders.
The combined service gauge of the Supply Management Institute fell 5 points to 48.8. Readings below 50 indicate a contraction, and the 6-month figure was much weaker than all forecasts in a Bloomberg Economist survey.
The ISM business activity index, along with the Group’s factory output, fell 11.6 points last month, the steepest drop since 2020/4. Orders with service providers fell for the first time since the end of 2022.
The figure represents a sudden noticeable reversal from the previous month, when the overall measure rose to a 9-month high. The 6-month deterioration in the service gauge, which covers most of the economy, also adds to evidence that the economy is showing more signs of running out of steam.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow forecast now shows that gross domestic product in the second quarter is rising at an annual rate of 1.7%. In the past few weeks, the projection has been cut almost in half.
Combined with three consecutive months of contraction in the ISM manufacturing gauge reported earlier this week, a survey by a group of service providers shows demand is feeling a heavy burden from high borrowing costs, cooler business investment and uneven consumer spending.
At the same time, the measure of prices paid by service providers for materials eased to a three-month low, indicating a gradual cooling of inflation.
Also, the service survey showed that while employment declined for 5 months, inventory declined at the fastest pace since 2021-10. The measure of inventory sentiment has risen to its highest level since 2017, indicating that a larger share of companies see their stockpiles as too high.
The order backlog declined significantly in the 6th month, with Gauge showing the fastest shrinkage rate since the 8th month of last year. The service Export Orders index fell 10.1 points to 51.7 on signs of sluggish overseas demand, although still rising.
Source: Bloomberg