The latest report by S&P Global announced on Wednesday the
seasonally adjusted final S&P Global U.S. Services Business Activity Index
(PMI) came in at 52.6 in March, up from 50.6 in February but slightly below the
earlier released “flash” estimate of 53.8. The latest reading indicated that
the activity in the U.S. services sector rose at the sharpest pace since June
2022.
Economists had expected the indicator to remain unrevised at 53.8.
According to the report, the March growth was driven
by a renewed increase in new business, the first expansion since last
September. Meanwhile, pressure on capacity built following greater new orders,
as firms registered a modest accumulation of backlogs of work. Subsequently,
companies engaged in another round of job creation. On the price front, the
pace of cost inflation weakened again and was the second-slowest since October
2020, while the rate of charge inflation quickened for the second month running
and was the fastest since last September.