The U.S. services industry picked up in July as new manufacturing orders saw steady increases with 26 consecutive months of expansion, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) survey released on Aug. 4.
The survey comes after the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy contracted by 1.3 percent in the first half of 2022, confirming that the country is in a recession after two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
The ISM’s composite services index increased to 56.7 percent in July, rising 1.4 points from 55.3 percent in June and ending three months of consecutive declines.
Wells Fargo economists Tim Quinlan and Shannon Seery analyzed the report in a note….