US services activity dips in March, alongside slower price gains, ISM says

(Sharecast News) - Activity levels in U.S. services failed to pick up last month as anticipated by economists, the results of a closely-followed survey showed. The Institute for Supply Management's services sector Purchasing Managers' Index dipped to 51.4 for March after a reading of 52.6 in February.

Economists had forecast that the headline PMI would tick higher to 52.7.

Significantly, given financial markets' current focus on inflation, a sub-index tracking prices paid by companies fell back from 58.6 to 53.4.

Another key sub-index, that for new orders, slipped modestly from 56.1 to 54.4, while that linked to employment inched up from 48.0 to 48.5.

The 50 point level marked the threshold between a contraction and expansion both for the headline index as well as for all the subindices.

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