by Doug Short
Financial Sense
Today the Institute for Supply Management published its latest Non-Manufacturing Report. The headline NMI Composite Index is at 53.4 percent, up 0.1 percent from last month’s seasonally adjusted 53.4 percent. Today’s number came in slightly above the Investing.com forecast of 53.2 percent.
Here is the report summary:
“The NMI® registered 53.4 percent in February, 0.1 percentage point lower than the January reading of 53.5 percent. This represents continued growth in the non-manufacturing sector at a slightly slower rate. The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index increased to 57.8 percent, 3.9 percentage points higher than the January reading of 53.9 percent, reflecting growth for the 79th consecutive month at a faster rate. The New Orders Index registered 55.5 percent, 1 percentage point lower than the reading of 56.5 percent in January. The Employment Index decreased 2.4 percentage points to 49.7 percent from the January reading of 52.1 percent and indicates contraction after 23 consecutive months of growth.