US: S&P Manufacturing PMI improves to 51.8 in September, Composite PMI rises to 49.3

• S&P Global Composite PMI and Services PMI rose sharply in early September.
• The US Dollar Index trades at fresh multi-decade highs above 112.00.

The data published by S&P Global showed on Friday that the business activity in the US manufacturing sector expanded at a stronger pace in early September than in August with the Manufacturing PMI rising to 51.8 from 51.5. This reading came in better than the market expectation of 51.5.

Further details of the monthly publication revealed that the Services PMI rose sharply to 49.2 from 43.7 and the Composite PMI improved to 49.3 from 44.6.

Commenting on the PMI surveys, "US businesses are reporting a third consecutive monthly fall in output during September, rounding off the weakest quarter for the economy since the global financial crisis if the pandemic lockdowns of early-2020 are excluded," said Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"However, while output declined in both manufacturing and services during September, in both cases the rate of contraction moderated compared to August, notably in services, with orders books returning to modest growth, allaying some concerns about the depth of the current downturn," Williamson added.

Market reaction

The greenback gathered strength on upbeat data and the US Dollar Index was last seen rising 1% on the day at 112.38.