In January, the IMS purchasing manager index rose unexpectedly
The US service providers surprisingly increased their growth rate at the beginning of the year. The purchasing manager index rose from 57.7 to 58.7 points in January, according to the company survey published by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Wednesday. This is the highest level since February 2019. Experts surveyed by Reuters, however, had expected a decrease to 56.8 points.
With the increase, the service providers are now very comfortably above the growth threshold of 50 points. The level from before the corona crisis has also been exceeded.
“On balance, the US economy remains on a recovery course,” said Helaba economist Ralf Umlauf. The employment component of the ISM barometer should also be noted, which rose from 48.7 to 55.2 points. “An improvement in the labor market situation is to be expected in the labor market report due on Friday.” Experts expect the number of jobs outside of agriculture to rise by 50,000 in January.
