US: Markit Services PMI drops to 53 (final) in April, lowest reading in more than 2 years

In its final "US Services PMI" report, the IHS Markit said that the business activity in the service sector in the U.S. expanded at its slowest pace since March of 2017 with the headline PMI dropping to 53 in April from 55.3 in March. This reading came largely in line with the previous estimate and the market expectation of 52.9.

Commenting on the data, "The final PMI surveys for April indicate a marked slowing of the US economy at the start of the second quarter, suggesting the robust start to the year has lost some momentum. Businesses reported the weakest output and sales growth for two years, indicative of GDP growth slowing to 1.9% in April," said Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at the IHS Markit.