Economic activity in the U.S. private sector grew at a slightly faster pace than anticipated in September, marking a stark contrast between the healthy services sector and the struggling manufacturing industry, according to the flash estimates from the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report released by S&P Global on Monday.
Despite better-than-expected readings for both the composite and services PMIs, two concerning trends emerged from September's surveys.
First, the manufacturing sector’ deepened contraction’s contraction deepened, with output levels hitting their lowest level since December 2023. Second, inflationary pressures resurfaced, notably in the same month the Federal Reserve announced a 50-basis-point interest rate cut, with signals of further cuts ahead.
September Flash PMI Reports: Key Highlights
Index
September 2024
August 2024
Forecast (September)
Composite PMI
54.4
54.6
54.3
Services PMI
55.4
55.7
55.3
Manufacturing PMI
47.0
47.9
48.9
Composite PMI: Eased from 54.6 in August to 54.4 but slightly outpaced the forecast of 54.3, as tracked by TradingEconomics.
Services PMI: Slowed from 55.7 to 55.4, still above the ...
