The latest report by S&P Global revealed the seasonally
adjusted final S&P Global U.S. Services Business Activity Index (PMI) came
in at 52.3 in February, down marginally from 52.5 in January but above the earlier released “flash”
estimate of 51.3. The February reading indicated that the activity in the U.S.
services sector expanded for the 13th straight month and at the pace which was
the second-fastest since last July.
According
to the report, the solid performance of US service providers in February was due to
a further rise in new business, though the rate of growth of new orders softened to the weakest in three months. Meanwhile, pressure on capacity dissipated as
backlogs of work decreased, supported by a further increase in employment. On the price
front, the pace of input cost inflation eased to the slowest since October 2020,
while the charge inflation rose at a sharper pace, albeit still one of the
lowest since early 2020.