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US service sector’s strong summer boosted by concerts and movies
The US ISM services index was surprisingly strong in August, rising to 54.5 from 52.7. This is well ahead of the 52.5 consensus expectation and in fact above every single forecast submitted by economists, leaving the index at a six-month high. Activity improved to 57.3 from 57.1, new orders jumped to 57.5 from 55.0 while employment rose to 54.7 from 50.7, indicating broad-based strength throughout the report. It may well be that the summer entertainment boon has been a big factor with concerts and cinemas pulling in record revenues and ancilliary businesses feeling the benefits too. Nonetheless, as the chart shows, ... (full story)