US Services Activity Moderates as Orders Growth Slides

  • ISM services gauge fell to 53.6 in September from 54.5
  • Index of new orders declined to lowest level this year

Workers manufacture dinnerware at a factory in Newell, West Virginia.

Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
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Growth in the US service sector moderated in September as a measure of new orders slid to the lowest level this year.

The Institute for Supply Management’s overall gauge of services fell by nearly a point to 53.6, data out Wednesday showed. Readings above 50 indicate expansion, and the September figure was in line with the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.