The latest report by S&P Global announced on Friday the seasonally
adjusted final S&P Global U.S. Services Business Activity Index (PMI) came
in at 50.6 in February, up from 46.8 in January and slightly above the earlier
released “flash” estimate of 50.5. The latest reading indicated that the activity
in the U.S. services sector returned to expansion - albeit at only a slight
pace - after seven straight months of contraction.
Economists had predicted the indicator to stay unrevised at 50.5.
According to the report, new business across the
service sector decreased at a softer rate than in January, while new orders declined
at the slowest pace since last October, and the rate of job creation was the fastest since
September 2022. On the price front, the pace of cost inflation lost momentum
and was the second-slowest since October 2020, while the rate of charge
inflation was the quickest since October 2022 and strong overall.