Investing.com - Service sector activity in the U.S. fell back from an 11-month October, missing estimates on a bigger than expected drop, industry data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index (PMI) fell to 57.1 last month from 57.1 in September. Despite the worst than expected reading, it was still the 81st consecutive month of growth.
Analysts had expected the index to decrease to 56.0.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates the non-manufacturing sector economy is generally expanding, below 50.0 indicates the sector is contracting
The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index decreased to 57.7, 2.6 points lower than September’s reading of 60.3. Analysts had forecast it to drop to 59.7.
The New Orders Index registered 57.7 in October, 2.3 points lower than the reading of 60.0 in the previous month.
The Employment Index decreased 4.1 points to 53.1 from September’s reading of 57.2.
The Prices Index increased 2.6 points to 56.6 from September’s 54.0.
"There has been a slight cooling-off in the non-manufacturing sector month-over-month, indicating that last month’s increases weren’t sustainable," the ISM noted in the report.
The report indicated that respondents' comments remain mostly positive about business conditions and the overall economy.
However, it was noted that several comments were made about the uncertainty on the impact of the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
Immediately following the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1074 from around 1.1073 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.2449 from 1.2454 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 103.14 from 103.20 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, traded at 97.36 compared to 97.39 prior to the release.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were trading mixed after the open. The Dow 30 edged forward 0.04%, the S&P 500 inched up 0.01%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.16%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,298.35 a troy ounce, compared to $1,296.00 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $45.29 a barrel from $45.23 earlier.