Things may be tailing off a mite in the United States, according to figures released Tuesday morning.
At 54.3 in February, the Markit Composite Purchasing Managers Index Output Index dropped from 55.8 in January, according to the flash estimate. The latest reading appeared to show that private sector output growth moderated from the 14-month high recorded at the start of the year but still indicates a solid pace of economic growth overall.
The drop in flash PMI numbers for February suggests that the post-election upturn has lost some momentum. Growth of business output, new orders and hiring all went south, as did inflationary pressures. Despite the dip, the pace of growth and hiring remained solid. But the worry is that a drop in business optimism about the outlook suggests that companies are expecting growth to ease further in coming months.
Taken together, the PMI readings for the first two months of the year suggest that the GDP should rise by 2.5% in the first quarter, assuming no further change in momentum is seen in March.
The drop was caused by a broad-based weakening of business activity growth. The services "flash" index fell to 53.9 from 55.6 in January, while the manufacturing "flash" output index dipped to 55.7 from 56.7
