US Business Activity Near Multi-Year High in October as Price Pressures Intensify

US business activity slowed slightly in October but stayed close to a multi-year high, with the S&P Global flash composite index falling 0.8 point to 57.6, its second-highest reading since 2022. Readings above 50 signal expansion. A gauge of selling prices rose at the fastest pace in more than four years, driven by higher energy, transportation and raw material costs. Supplier delivery times lengthened the most since 2022 amid material and labor shortages, overloaded suppliers and shipping delays. New orders grew at the fastest rate in four and a half years, and the employment index was the second-highest in four years. The manufacturing index rose to 56, its strongest since May 2022. Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said that outside the pandemic reopening, businesses are enjoying their strongest growth period since 2015.