Growth in the US services sector eased in March for a second month while a gauge of input costs slumped to a four-year low. The Institute for Supply Management’s composite gauge of services fell 1.2 points to 51.4, largely reflecting a drop in the supplier deliveries index to a record low. Readings above 50 indicate expansion, and the March figure was lower than all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The index of prices paid for materials and services decreased more than 5 points to 53.4, the lowest since March 2020, according to the report issued Wednesday. That stands in stark contrast to ISM data earlier week showing a manufacturing...

Read more...