FYI: It’s hard to describe a weaker than expected economic indicator as being OK, but that was pretty much the case with the ISM Services report for the month of December. While economists were forecasting the headline reading to come in at 58.5, the actual reading came in at 57.6 versus a reading of 60.7 in November. While that 3.1 point decline sounds large, there was actually a move of a similar magnitude as recently as last July. On a combined basis, though, the ISM for December saw a larger decline, falling from 60.5 down to 57.2. On that basis, the 3.3 point decline was a bit more significant as it was the largest m/m decline since November 2008.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.bespokepremium.com/think-big-blog/a-not-so-bad-weaker-than-expected-ism-services-report/
