S&P Flash U.S. PMI Indicates Increase in Business Activity

The S&P Flash U.S. PMI, which provides an early snapshot of economic data, showed that U.S. business activity grew at the second-fastest pace this year in October (S&P).

The details: “Improvements in output and new work were recorded in manufacturing and services, though both sectors signaled falling exports.”

However, job creation remains tepid, and business confidence worsened, “principally reflecting ongoing concerns over the impact of government policies such as tariffs.”
Prices for goods and services together rose at the slowest pace since April, though businesses’ costs jumped.

In manufacturing: The S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI ticked up to 52.2 from 52.0 in September. This PMI has shown improvements in 9 of the past 10 months (with July being the exception).

“Production and new order growth both accelerated, the latter notably signaling the sharpest improvement in demand for 20 months.”
However, employment growth slowed, and inventories showed only a slight gain.
On the positive side again, delivery times decreased in comparison to September.