- ISM Services PMI fell to a fresh 6-month low in November.
- US Dollar Index continues to edge lower after the data.
The business activity in the US’ service sector continued to expand in November, albeit at its softest pace since February. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Services PMI fell to 55.9 from 56.6 in October and missed the market expectation of 56 by a small margin.
Further details of the publication revealed that the New Orders Index edged lower to 57.2 from 58.8, the Employment Index improved to 51.5 from 50.1 and the Prices Paid Index jumped to its highest level since September 2012 at 66.1
Commenting on the data, “there has been a slight pullback in the rate of growth in the Services Sector in the month of October,” said Anthony Nieves, Chair of the ISM Services Business Survey Committee. “Respondents’ comments are cautiously optimistic about business conditions and the economy. There is a degree of uncertainty due to the pandemic, capacity constraints, logistics and the elections.”
Market reaction
The US Dollar Index pushed lower after this report and was last seen losing 0.55% on the day at 90.61.