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The seasonally adjusted final IHS Markit US Services PMI Business Activity Index registered 59.8 in February, up from 58.3 in January. The February (Purchasing Managers’ Index) PMI showed the fastest expansion of business activity since July 2014. The upturn in output was supported by a marked increase in new orders - which grew at their steepest pace since 2018. Although the demand for new orders did pressure capacity, there was only a fractional rise in employment. Firms also increased their selling prices at the second-quickest rate in 11 years, contributing factors include elevated supply-chain prices and PPE expenses. Not all was positive, as business confidence did moderate with concerns over the ongoing adverse effects of the pandemic.
The Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude inventories were up by 21.6 million barrels for the week ended February 26th. Refineries operated at 56.0% of their operable capacity. Inventories are about 3% above the five-year average for this time of year. Total commercial petroleum inventories decreased by 2.8 million barrels. Total products supplied was down 4.2% from the same period last year, averaging 19.6 million barrels a day. Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied was down 11.8%, distillate fuel product supplied was up 5.8%, and jet fuel product supplied was down 24.2% as compared to the same four-week period last year.
The Labor Department reported an additional 379,000 jobs were added in February as the unemployment rate dipped slightly to 6.2% from 6.3%. The February figure bested the 166,000 jobs that were added in January and the loss of 306,000 in December. Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 355,000 - accounting for the vast majority of the growth. Employment declined in state and local government education, construction, and mining. The February figures reflected little has changed as the number of unemployed remained at 10.0 million, the long-term unemployed stayed at 4.1 million, and the labor force participation rate remained at 61.4 %. The long-term unemployed currently account for 41.5% of the total unemployed.
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