The flash S&P Global manufacturing and services PMI data for December is out and shows weakness:

• prior month manufacturing 52.2
• manufacturing flash PMI 51.8 versus 52.0 estimate
• services PMI flash 52.9 versus 54.0 estimate. Prior month 54.1.

Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P
Global Market Intelligence:

• The flash PMI data for December suggest that the recent
  economic growth spurt is losing momentum. Although the
  survey data point to annualized GDP expansion of about
  2.5% over the fourth quarter, growth has now slowed for
  two months. With new sales growth waning especially
  sharply in the lead up to the holiday season, economic
  activity may soften further as we head into 2026.
• The signs of weakness are also broad-based, with a nearstalling of inflows of work into the vast services economy
  accompanied by the first fall in factory orders for a year.
  While manufacturers continue to report higher output,
  lower sales point to unsustainable production levels which
  will need to be lowered unless demand revives in the
  new year. Service providers reported one of the slowest
  months for sales growth since 2023.
• Firms have also lost some confidence in the outlook and
  have restricted their hiring in December in accordance
  with the more challenging business environment. A key
  concern is rising costs, with inflation jumping sharply to
  its highest since November 2022, which fed through to
  one of the steepest increases in selling charges for the
  past three years. Higher prices are again being widely
  blamed on tariffs, with an initial impact on manufacturing
  now increasingly spilling over to services to broaden the
  affordability problem.

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.



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