US: ISM Services PMI improves modestly to 61.9 in September vs. 60 expected

• US ISM Services PMI rose slightly in September.
• US Dollar Index stays in the positive territory little above 94.00.

The business activity in the US service sector continued to expand at a robust pace in September with the ISM Services PMI edging higher to 61.9 from 61.7 in September. This reading beat analysts' estimate of 60.

Further details of the publication revealed that the Prices Paid Index rose to 77.5 from 75.4 and the Employment Index retreated to 53 from 53.7. Finally, the New Orders Index improved to 63.5 from 63.2.

Commenting on the data, The slight uptick in the rate of expansion in the month of September continued the current period of strong growth for the services sector," said noted Anthony Nieves, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Services Business Survey Committee. "However, ongoing challenges with labor resources, logistics, and materials are affecting the continuity of supply."

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index is pushing slightly higher after this report and was last seen rising 0.25% on a daily basis at 94.04.