Growth in activity in the United States services industry expanded in January, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported on Monday. The upward movement occurs for the 13th consecutive month, with the services PMI landing at a better-than-expected 53.4% and above the previous month's revised 50.5%.
In the reported month, the Business Activity index remained at 55.8%. On the other hand, the New Orders index experienced an increase of 2.2 percentage points compared to the previous month, settling at 55%. The Employment index saw a rise of 6.7 percentage points to 50.5%, and the Prices index rose by 7.3 percentage points to 64%.
"The overall growth rate increase in January is attributable to faster growth of the New Orders, Employment, and Supplier Deliveries indexes. The majority of respondents indicate that business is steady. They are optimistic about the economy due to the potential impact of interest rate cuts; however, they are cautious due to inflation, associated cost pressures, and ongoing geopolitical conflicts," ISM Services Business Survey Committee Chair Anthony Nieves noted.
