US: Markit Manufacturing PMI drops to 49.9 in August vs. 50.5 expected

• Business activity in US manufacturing sector drops to contraction territory.
• Services PMI misses market expectation by a wide margin.
• US Dollar Index edges lower toward 98.10 on disappointing PMI figures.  

According to the IHS Markit’s Flash US PMI report, the Manufacturing PMI dropped below the 50 mark for the first time in nearly 10 years at 49.9 and missed the market expectation of 50.5.

With the initial market reaction, the US Dollar Index extended its daily slide and was last seen erasing 0.12% on the day at 98.14.

Further details of the report revealed that the Services PMI in the same period slumped to 50.9 from 53  in July and fell short of analysts’ estimate of 52.8.

Commenting on the data, “August’s survey data provides a clear signal that economic growth has continued to soften in the third quarter,” said  Tim Moore, Economics Associate Director at the IHS Markit.  “The PMIs for manufacturing and services remain much weaker than at the beginning of 2019 and collectively point to annualized GDP growth of around 1.5%.”