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The U.S. economy grew a touch slower in December, a pair of new surveys showed, but businesses are still expanding rapidly even in the face of ongoing labor and supply shortages.
The so-called flash reading of U.S. manufacturers slipped to 57.8 this month from 58.3 in November, IHS Markit said Thursday. Any number over 50 signals growth and readings above 55 are exceptional.
The flash reading of service-oriented companies such as retailers and banks edged down to 57.5 in December from 58 in the prior month.
“The survey data paint a picture of an economy showing encouraging resilience to rising virus infection rates and worries over the Omicron variant,” said IHS chief business economist Chris Williamson.
Businesses have plenty of orders, but they’ve had trouble meeting demand. Many firms can’t fill open jobs and some key materials are in short supply. A lack of transportation has also become a big problem.
All of those obstacles have raised costs and spurred businesses to try to pass them along to customers in the form of higher prices. That’s contributed to the biggest surge in U.S. inflation in decades.
There was some evidence that price pressures are starting to ease, the survey showed. Yet the spread of the new omicrom variant of the coronavirus is raising worries about another setback.
Stocks
DJIA,
SPX,
were little changed after the report. Equities rose in Thursday trading.
