Investing.com - Service sector activity in the U.S. grew at the slowest pace in six months in November, dampening optimism over the health of the economy, industry data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index fell 55.9 last month from 59.1 in October, missing forecasts for a reading of 58.0.
The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index decreased to 58.2, which is 4.8 points lower than the October reading of 63.0. The New Orders Index registered 57.5, 4.5 points lower than the reading of 62.0.
The Employment Index decreased 4.2 points to 55.0 from the October reading of 59.2, while the Prices Index increased 1.2 points from the October reading of 49.1 to 50.3.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates the non-manufacturing sector economy is generally expanding, below 50.0 indicates the sector is contracting.
According to the NMI, 12 non-manufacturing industries reported growth in November. After a strong month of growth in October, the non-manufacturing sector’s rate of growth slowed in November. Most respondents are still positive about business conditions.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0820 from around 1.0809 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5052 from 1.5034 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 123.20 from 123.35 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 98.74, compared to 98.86 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were down modestly after the open. The Dow 30 shed 0.2%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.15%, while the Nasdaq Composite slumped 0.1%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,055.90 a troy ounce, compared to $1,054.10 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $40.30 a barrel from $40.34 earlier.