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 56.8 in December 2024, up from 56.1 in the previous month but below the earlier released “flash”
estimate of 58.5.
The December reading indicated that the activity in the U.S.
services sector expanded for the 23rd straight month and reached a 33-month high.
Economists
had expected the indicator to remain unrevised at 58.5.
According
to the report, the strong performance of US service providers in December was underpinned
by fuller order books and rising optimism about prospects for the year ahead,
with businesses anticipating more business-friendly policies from the incoming
Trump administration, including favourable tax and regulatory environments
alongside protectionism via tariffs. In addition, employment increased for the first time in five months as output growth strengthened. On the price front, input cost inflation eased to the slowest for almost a year, while the charge
inflation was again up only modestly.