S&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE chief commercial economist Chris Williamson says
October PMI signals a strong start to US Q4, with annualized GDP growth
potentially above 4%. Technology remains the main growth driver, with
consumer-facing sectors and financial services also holding up. Offsetting
factors: inflationary pressure has intensified and some forward indicators have
weakened — expansion has slowed from recent highs as new order inflows eased and
business confidence fell. Optimism at large services firms dropped sharply in
October over consumer affordability, interest-rate and political uncertainty,
while services’ average selling-price growth reached one of its fastest
four-year paces. Alongside manufacturing PMI evidence of sharp commodity price
rises, the data indicate inflation may remain above the Fed’s target in coming
months.
