US ISM Services PMI rises to 53.5 in February vs. 52.6 expected

• ISM Services PMI improved to 53.5 in January.
• US Dollar stays under heavy selling pressure despite the upbeat PMI report.

The economic activity in the US service sector continued to expand an accelerating pace in February, with the ISM Services PMI rising to 53.5 from 52.8 in January. This reading came in above the market expectation of 52.6.

Other details of the report showed that the Prices Paid Index, the inflation component, rose to 62.6 from 60.4, while the Employment Index improved to 53.9 from 52.3.

Market reaction

The US Dollar struggles to benefit from the upbeat ISM Services PMI data. At the time of press, the US Dollar Index was down 0.9% on the day at 104.55.