U.S. basic materials sector’s output falls in December 2018

Companies in the basic materials sector in the U.S. recorded the first fall in output since May 2016 in December 2018, showed the U.S. Sector PMI. Furthermore, the sector was the worst performing of those monitored by the survey and the only one to hint at a downturn in production.

The consumer services sector hinted at a further rise in growth momentum, with the pace of growth, accelerating for the fourth straight month. The growth in activity was the most rapid in eight months and showed the strongest performance among the monitored sectors. Similarly, industrials companies registered a solid and accelerated rise in production.

On the contrary, the technology and consumer goods sectors hinted at the softest respective output growths since March. Even if the growth is strong overall the pace of growth among consumer goods companies was one of the softest in 2018.

In the meantime, weaker output growth was recorded in the financials sector. The slight growth in business activity was the second-softest since January 2018. Healthcare companies also hinted at a deceleration in activity growth, with the upturn easing from October’s 44-month high to the slowest in three months.

At 17:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at -25.6124. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex