U.S. ISM non-manufacturing index rises further in October to highest since 2005

The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index rebounded further in October by rising 0.3 points to 60.1. This is the highest reading since 2005. The print for October surprised on the upside with market consensus expecting a drop to 58.5.

Business activity and employment recorded the small improvements among the main subcomponents and extended their streak of monthly gains to three months. The supplier deliveries index stayed at 58, showing slower deliveries for a second straight month.

New orders dropped slightly by 0.2 points but stayed elevated at 62.8, while new export orders saw noticeable improvement rising by 4 points to 60. The prices paid sub-index dropped 3.6 points to 62.7 Survey contacts’ comments continued to indicate towards a positive outlook for the fourth quarter business conditions, with 16 industries recording growth in October.

The underlying trend continues to be an encouraging one, with broad underlying strength among the main sub-components strengthening the notion that the services sector continues to grow at a strong pace, noted TD Economics in a research report.

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