US PMI Manufacturing fell from 49.4 to 48.2 in December. PMI Services rose from 50.8 to 51.3. PMI Composite rose from 50.7 to 51.0, a 5-month high.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said:
“The early PMI data indicate that the US economy picked up a little momentum in December, closing off the year with the fastest growth recorded since July.
“Looser financial conditions have helped boost demand, business activity and employment in the service sector, and have also helped lift future output expectations higher. However, the increased cost of living and cautious approach to spending by households and businesses means the overall rate of service sector growth remains far short of that witnessed during the travel and leisure revival back in the spring and summer.
“Manufacturing meanwhile remains a drag on the economy, with an increased rate of order book decline prompting factories to reduce production, cut back on headcounts and scale back their input buying.
“Despite the December upturn, the survey therefore signals only weak GDP growth in the fourth quarter.
“The survey’s selling price gauge, which tends to lead changes in consumer price inflation, remains sticky but at a level which is indicative of CPI running only modestly above 2%. Service sector input cost inflation, a key gauge of core inflation, once again remained notably elevated by historical standards, though even here the average rate of increase in the fourth quarter has been the lowest since mid-2020.”
