US Markit services PMI at 27-month low in January

The final Markit US services business activity index fell to 53.2 in January from a flash estimate of 53.7 and 54.3 in December, marking its weakest pace of growth since the current period of expansion began in late 2013.

The slowdown was mostly due to a more subdued expansion of service sector activity, as manufacturing output rose at a slightly faster pace than December’s 26-month low, Markit said.

Chief economist Chris Williamson said: “The US upturn has lost substantial momentum over the past two months, the trend in business activity sliding to the worst for over three years.

“Slower service sector activity, combined with subdued manufacturing growth, means January’s expansion was the weakest seen since October 2012 with the sole exception of October 2013, when business was affected by the government shutdown.”