Business and financial services drive global growth in August
PMI data from Markit signalled that business-facing and finance-related sectors achieved the fastest rates of activity expansion globally in August. Commercial & professional services topped the growth rankings, and posted the fastest rate of expansion in business activity since January 2012.
Service sectors consequently dominated the rankings again in August, occupying six of the top seven places. Besides the financials group and commercial & professional services, technology equipment, healthcare services and food also posted sharp rates of growth in August.
Financials
The four sectors that make up the broad financials group all registered strong increases in business activity in August. Insurance posted the strongest growth (30-month high), closely followed by real estate, where the rate of expansion eased from July's peak. Banks and other financials meanwhile registered the steepest rates of growth in 42 and 11 months respectively. Overall, financials led the broad sector group rankings for the third successive month in August as a result.
Manufacturing
The fastest growing manufacturing sector in August was technology equipment, where output rose at the sharpest rate since May 2010. This was driven by strong US and Asian growth.
The bottom-ranked sector in August was metals & mining, where output rose at the slowest rate in five months. Household & personal goods registered a similarly weak rate of expansion, the slowest since May 2013.
Trevor Balchin | Economics Director, IHS Markit
Tel: +44 149 1461065
trevor.balchin@ihsmarkit.com