US: ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI drops to 56.1 in March vs 58 expected

"The NMI registered 56.1 percent, which is 3.6 percentage points lower than the February reading of 59.7 percent," the ISM said in its latest Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business on Wednesday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• The New Orders Index registered 59 percent, 6.2 percentage points lower than the reading of 65.2 percent in February.
• The Employment Index increased 0.7 percentage point in March to 55.9 percent from the February reading of 55.2 percent.
• The Prices Index increased 4.3 percentage points from the February reading of 54.4 percent to 58.7 percent, indicating that prices increased in March for the 22nd consecutive month.
• Respondents remain mostly optimistic about overall business conditions and the economy.
• They still have underlying concerns about employment resources and capacity constraints.