US service sector activity picks up in June, ISM says
Updated : 15:54
Activity in America's services sector accelerated in June amid a pick-up in orders, especially from abroad, according to the results of a widely-followed survey.
The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose from a reading of 56.9 for May to 57.4 in June.
Economists had been expecting a print of 56.5.
A sub-index of new orders improved from 57.7 to 60.5, while another linked to new export orders specifically rose from 54.5 to 55.0.
Price pressures also firmed, with the prices paid sub-index advancing from 49.2 to 52.1.
Employment was roughly steady, with the corresponding sub-index revealing a slight slowdown in hiring as it slipped from 57.8 to 55.8.
Production levels meanwhile increased at a similar clip to April, as reflected in the busines activity gauge, which edged up from 60.7 to 60.8.
"On balance, with the recent data pointing to a rebound in annualised GDP growth to nearly 3% in the second quarter, the ISM indices point to some healthy momentum going into the third quarter as well," said Andrew Hunter, US economist at Capital Economics.