US business activity declines at slower pace amid renewed rise in client demand

Economic activity in the services sector grew in September for the 28th month in a row — with the Services PMI® registering 56.7 percent — say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in the latest Services ISM® Report On Business®. The report was issued today by Anthony Nieves, CPSM, C.P.M., A.P.P., CFPM, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Services Business Survey Committee: "In September, the Services PMI® registered 56.7 percent, 0.2 percentage point lower than August's reading of 56.9 percent. The Business Activity Index registered 59.1 percent, a decrease of 1.8 percentage points compared to the reading of 60.9 percent in August. The New Orders Index figure of 60.6 percent is 1.2 percentage points lower than the August reading of 61.8 percent. "The Supplier Deliveries Index registered 53.9 percent, 0.6 percentage point lower than the 54.5 percent reported in August. (Supplier Deliveries is the only ISM® Report On Business® index that is inversed; a reading of above 50 percent indicates slower deliveries, which is typical as the economy improves and customer demand increases.) "The Prices Index decreased for the fifth consecutive month in September, down 2.8 percentage points to 68.7 percent. Services businesses still continue to struggle to replenish their stocks, a tweet at 10:04am: A gauge of prices paid by services industries for inputs dropped to 68.7, the lowest reading since January 2021, from 71.5 in August. It mirrored a decrease in the manufacturing survey, raising hope that inflation had peaked. - Reuters via https://t.co/wXVagA44VK https://t.co/W9HkLtYabS