It’s that last one which should grab your attention. According to Markit’s view of where things stand – in the services sector – businesses have never been this pessimistic. As a result, unlike the noisy ISM, this other non-manufacturing indicator dropped sharply in August from July. It had been 53.0 and has now fallen to 50.7 (down from the “flash” estimate of 50.9).
As for the composite PMI, it therefore fell to a new multi-year low of 50.7, down a touch from the flash August estimate of 50.9.
