The US economy apparently didn’t get the memo about slowing down. S&P Global’s flash PMI data for July showed manufacturing, services, and composite readings all clearing 53, a threshold that suggests the private sector isn’t just expanding, it’s doing so with some conviction.
The composite output PMI clocked in at 53.6, its highest level in eight months. Services came in above 53 as well. Manufacturing landed at 53.8, technically a three-month low but still comfortably in expansion territory. Anything above 50 signals growth. Above 53 across the board signals growth that’s hard to ignore.
What the numbers actually tell us
The manufacturing number slipped from June’s final reading of 53.9, which is worth noting. That deceleration, however small, suggests the factory side of the economy may be cooling at the margins.
Services, on the other hand, held firm. That matters more than it sounds, because services represent the lion’s share of US economic output.
