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2026-02-20 23:06:26
[S&P Global: US Business Activity Slows to 10-Month Low in February] (1) Data from the S&P Global survey released on Friday showed that US business activity slowed to its lowest level in 10 months in February, mainly dragged down by factors such as reduced factory orders, weak growth in new business in the service sector, and a general standstill in job growth. (2) S&P Global disclosed that its US Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 52.3 in early February from 53.0 in January, the lowest level since April last year. It is worth noting that a PMI reading above 50 usually means that the private sector economy is in an expansionary range. Although it maintained an expansionary trend in February, the growth rate slowed down significantly, with both the service and manufacturing PMIs showing slight declines. (3) Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, pointed out that PMI data this year shows that the annualized growth rate of US gross domestic product (GDP) is only about 1.5%, which indicates that the US economy cooled down significantly in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the strong growth performance in the second half of last year. (4) Specifically, the services PMI fell from 52.7 in January to 52.3 in February, lower than the 53.0 expected by economists in a previous Reuters survey; the manufacturing PMI fell from 52.4 to 51.2, a new low in seven months, also lower than the market consensus expectation of 52.6, and new orders in the industry declined for the second time in three months.
