ISM services PMI picks up in September

(Sharecast News) - Services sector activity in the US picked up last month, led by a rise in new orders.
The Institute for Supply Management's Purchasing Managers' Index improved from a reading of 56.9 for August to 57.8 in September.

Analysts had forecast a reading of 56.3.

Hiring also made a reappearance, with the corresponding sub-index rising from 47.9 to 51.8.

The pace of new orders also quickened, with a subindex linked to them increasing from 56.8 to 61.5.

Supplier deliveries meanwhile sped up, as indicated by a drop in this case in the sub-index tracking them, from 60.5 to 54.9.

Order backlogs, new export orders and prices gains meanwhile all slowed, as did imports.

"Broadly, the ISM services index tends to track the rate of growth of retail sales, which is likely to slow in Q4 in the wake of the expiration of enhanced unemployment benefits," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

"In the meantime, though, the relationship between the sale numbers and the index suggests that the latter could easily rise a bit further."