US private sector nears stagnation in August PMIs

America’s private sector showed signs of near stagnation in August, according to fresh survey data released on Wednesday, with business activity growth showing a slowdown.

The S&P Global flash composite output index - a measure of both manufacturing and service sector activity - declined to 50.4, from a print of 52.0 in July.

It marked a slight expansion in economic activity, coming in just above the 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction, but was still a six-month low.

Manufacturing descended deeper into contraction, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the sector registering at 47.0, a dip from July's 49.0.

That also failed to meet expectations for 49.0, as predicted by economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal.

On the services front, a further deceleration in growth was noted, with the flash services PMI dropping to 51.0 in August from 52.3 in the prior month.

That was the weakest it had been since February, also falling short of the projected rise to 52.5.

“The latest US manufacturing and services PMIs for August followed the trend set this morning in Europe, coming in below expectations at 47 for manufacturing and 51 for services,” noted CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson.

“The weaker data, while sending yields lower, is also paring expectations around future rate hikes, helping to pull US stocks further away from their recent lows.”

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.