S&P Global Market Intelligence says US services demand has essentially stalled
over the past three months, losing momentum from earlier this year, while
manufacturing saw demand spikes and precautionary inventory building tied to
war-related supply and price concerns. Weak services activity is dragging
overall growth; PMI data imply annualized Q2 growth only marginally above 1%.
Consumer-facing sectors posted the largest order declines since the pandemic as
higher energy costs squeezed spending and rising service prices prompted
consumers to delay purchases; business services orders are down and financial
firms face pressure from higher rates. PMI shows accelerating input-cost inf,
signalling further near-term consumer-price pressure, albeit weak demand growth
and signs of a cooling labor market may limit additional upside.
