BlockBeats news, on April 3, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, stated that PMI survey data indicate the U.S. economy is under pressure from rising prices and heightened uncertainty, with the Middle East war exacerbating concerns over recent policy decisions. The services sector contracted for the first time since January 2023, dragging the overall economy to a near-stagnant annualized growth rate of just 0.5% in March. The consumer-facing services sector was hit hardest, with March’s decline being one of the largest since data collection began in 2009, excluding pandemic lockdown periods.
Last year’s strong-performing financial services and technology sectors have shown signs of weakening amid market volatility and concerns over rising interest rates. The key driver of deteriorating economic growth is declining spending, fueled by reduced purchasing power, coupled with a sharp surge in energy prices in March that significantly increased costs and sales prices. Survey data indicates that businesses are increasingly willing to pass on costs to customers in the coming months, potentially accelerating consumer price inflation toward 4%. (Jin10)