U.S. industrial output growth eases in August to almost three-and-half year low

U.S. industrial companies hinted at just a marginal rise in output in the month of August, showed the U.S. Sector PMI. The pace of growth eased to the slowest in the current sequence of growth that started in April 2016. Of the monitored sectors that showed a growth, industrials recorded the softest rise. Similarly, healthcare companies saw a deceleration in business activity growth in August. The rise was just marginal overall and the softest since December 2017. Meanwhile, the pace of growth among consumer services firms eased to a three-month low and was just slight.

Financials Business Activity Index came in below the 50 neutral mark in August, albeit hinting at a negligible drop in output. It marked the first sub-50 reading since January for the sector. On the contrary, technology and consumer goods companies saw the most rapid rates of growth for four months, with the former topping the output growth rankings table. The rise throughout the technology sector was strong overall, with a modest rise seen throughout the consumer goods segment.

Finally, basic materials companies hinted at a slight rise in the pace of output growth in August. However, the rise was just marginal.