US business activity growth accelerated sharply to its fastest for just over two years in May, according to provisional PMI survey data from S&P Global, signalling an improved economic performance midway through the second quarter. The service sector led the upturn, reporting the largest output rise for a year, but manufacturing also showed stronger growth. Although companies continued to report lower employment, the rate of job losses moderated amid improved business confidence for the year ahead and higher order book intakes. Both input costs and output prices meanwhile rose at faster rates, with manufacturing ... (full story)

The US PMI Composite Output Index, which takes both the services and the manufacturing business activity into account, improved by 3.1 index points compared to the month before, landing at 54.4 in May, S&P Global revealed in its preliminary report on Thursday. The United States Services Business Activity Index rose in comparison to the month before, coming in at 54.8 in the reported month. Meanwhile, the manufacturing PMI increased by 0.9 index points, to land at 50.9, reaching its highest point in 2 months due to improving business conditions within the goods-producing sector. "The US economic upturn has ... (full story)