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| US Manufacturing and Services PMIs Beat Expectations in February, Reflecting Strong Private Sector Expansion |
The US private sector exhibited stronger-than-expected expansion in February, according to the latest data released by S&P Global. The Composite PMI surged to 53.3 from 50.1 in January, reflecting robust business activity across both manufacturing and services sectors. While manufacturing PMI climbed to 49.3 from 47.3, it remained in the contraction territory. In contrast, services PMI posted an impressive increase of 3.2 points to reach 53.8, surpassing market forecasts of 50.5 by a wide margin.
Chris Williamson, the Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, hailed the data as "an encouraging resurgence of economic growth." He added that the acceleration in output in March, the fastest since May 2020, has provided further impetus to the recovery. However, Williamson expressed concerns over the rising inflationary pressures in the economy, with the survey's gauge of selling prices increasing at a faster rate in March. He attributed this trend to faster wage growth, particularly in the service sector.
Despite the upbeat data, the US Dollar did not show a significant response to the news. The US Dollar Index was trading up by 0.6% at 103.20, reflecting its strong daily gains above the 103.00 level. Nevertheless, the data is expected to boost the confidence of investors and business leaders in the economic recovery and could provide further impetus to the bullish market sentiment.
