Courtesy of Mish.
On many days there are no economic reports. On some days, like today, there are many reports.
Rather than parrot mainstream media, I like to comment on the reports, dive into the details, and compare reports when applicable. This takes a bit of extra time.
Let’s compare the Non-Manufacturing (Services) ISM report to the Markit Services PMI report, both out this morning.
Non-Manufacturing ISM
| Index | September | August | PP Change | Direction | Rate of Change | Trend in Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NMI® | 57.1 | 51.4 | 5.7 | growing | Faster | 80 |
| Business Activity / Production | 60.3 | 51.8 | 8.5 | growing | Faster | 86 |
| New Orders | 60.0 | 51.4 | 8.6 | Growing | Faster | 86 |
| Employment | 57.2 | 50.7 | 6.5 | Growing | Faster | 4 |
| Supplier Deliveries | 51.0 | 51.5 | -0.5 | Slowing | Slower | 9 |
| Inventories | 51.5 | 48.0 | 3.5 | growing | From Contracting | 1 |
| Prices | 54.0 | 51.8 | 2.2 | Increasing | Faster | 6 |
| Backlog of Orders | 52.0 | 49.5 | 2.5 | Growing | From Contracting | 1 |
| New Export Orders | 56.5 | 46.5 | 10.0 | Growing | From Contracting | 1 |
| Imports | 51.0 | 50.5 | 0.5 | Growing | Faster | 8 |
| Inventory Sentiment | 64.5 | 64.0 | 0.5 | Too High | Faster | 232 |
That looks like an exceptionally good report. But is it believable? Let’s see what Markit has to say.
Markit Services PMI
Key Findings
