US November ISM services 52.7 vs 52.0 expected

<ul><li><a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/us-october-ism-services-518-vs-530-expected-20231103/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Prior </a>was 51.8</li></ul><p>Details:</p><ul><li>Employment index 50.7 versus 50.2 prior</li><li>New orders index 55.5 versus 55.5 prior</li><li>Prices paid index 58.3 versus 58.6 prior </li><li>New export orders 53.6 versus 48.8 prior</li><li>Imports 53.7 versus 60.0 prior</li><li>Backlog of orders 49.1 versus 50.9 prior</li><li>Inventories 55.4 versus 49.5 prior</li><li>Supplier deliveries 49.6 versus 47.5 prior</li><li>Inventory sentiment 62.2 versus 54.4 prior</li></ul><p>These are steady numbers that point to a decent economy. There's no recession in the data but there isn't much growth either and I think the market is fine with that.</p><p>Comments in the report from respondents:</p><ul><li>“Restaurant sales and traffic trends are consistent with the
previous month and at our annual seasonal lows — should pick up again in
December. We continue to trend positive to pre-pandemic and last year.”
[Accommodation &amp; Food Services]</li><li>“Opportunities across the construction industry remains strong. The
labor market for skilled trades workers is tight.” [Construction]</li><li>“Supplies and merchandise are holding steady.” [Educational Services]</li><li>“Business conditions remain steady to the end of 2023. Annual cost
escalations are a bit higher than planned, more than 5 percent versus 3
percent due to overall economic conditions and concerns.” (Finance &amp;
Insurance)</li><li>“Signs of recovery are on the horizon — (profit) margins remain
tight, but revenue is improving and labor appears to be stabilizing.
Supply chains are operating well, but a few major manufacturers continue
to show signs of constraints that have persisted for some time. Capital
investment remains constrained; however, optimism has returned for a
turnaround in calendar year 2024.” [Health Care &amp; Social Assistance]</li><li>“There are fewer new projects in comparison to last month and
November 2022. Customers are not requesting quotes for new services.”
[Information]</li><li>“Customers are conservative in spending, so competition to maintain
market share is tight.” [Management of Companies &amp; Support Services]</li><li>“Fourth-quarter revenues lower than projected. Seeing negative
revenues trend into the first quarter of the new year. We remain
positive yet concerned about 2024.” [Professional, Scientific &amp;
Technical Services]</li><li>“Prices for most items increasing, but only slightly. Increase in
pricing for services much more noticeable and impactful on the
organization.” [Public Administration]</li><li>“Candidate expectations during the hiring process have made staffing up more difficult.” [Retail Trade]</li><li>“Solid activity heading into the final stretch of the fourth quarter.” [Transportation &amp; Warehousing]</li><li>“Labor, equipment and material price escalation requests are
increasing, both through existing contracts as well as re-pricing of
markets via requests for proposal.” [Utilities]</li><li>“A comparably flat month of business activity — no major swings one
way or the other. Inventories in our extended supply chain look healthy,
and fill rates are improving.” [Wholesale Trade]</li></ul>

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.