US: Manufacturers report strong start to 2018, but service sector growth eases - Markit

"January data indicated another solid expansion of U.S. private sector business activity, underpinned by the fastest rise in new work for five months," Markit reported on Wednesday.

Key highlights

Adjusted for seasonal influences the headline IHS Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 55.5 in January, from 55.1 in December. 

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Flash U.S. Services PMI Business Activity Index registered 53.3 in January, down slightly from 53.7 in December, to signal the slowest rise in service sector output since April 2017.

At 53.8 in January, down from 54.1 in December, the seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index signalled the least marked rate of business activity expansion since May 2017.

Payroll numbers continued to increase at the start of 2018.

The latest upturn marked eight years of sustained job creation across the private sector economy.

Input price inflation meanwhile intensified in January, with the latest rise in cost burdens the fastest since September 2017.