The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released its April Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), with the headline composite index at 53.6. This was lower than the forecast of 53.7 but keeps the index in expansion territory for a 22nd consecutive month.
Here is an excerpt from the report summary:
Miller continues, “April’s Services PMI® features the fourth month in a row with an increase in the 12-month PMI® average, up 0.8 percentage point from 51.7 percent in December 2025 to its current 52.5 percent. The Prices Index was flat but remained above 70 percent, amid sustained higher oil and fuel costs. The Supplier Deliveries Index indicated slower performance compared to March, coming in at 3.9 percentage points above its 12-month average. Increases in the Business Activity, Supplier Deliveries, and Employment indexes were more than offset by a 7.1 percentage point drop in the New Orders Index. Ongoing commentary that increased ordering is related to getting ahead of future price increases seems to have been more applicable to March than April; however, the Backlog of Orders Index remained in expansion territory, well above its 12-month average of 46.4 percent.
“Exports and imports activity remains strong and have expanded for three months in a row for the first time since a four-month run from July through October 2024. For the second month in a row, there are no commodities in the report listed as down in price, with aluminum, copper, lumber, petroleum products and software licensing continuing multimonth runs of being up in price. There were several comments from respondents stating that they have yet to see petroleum price increases impacting petroleum-related products, so we expect to see continued elevated readings for the Prices Index for several months — regardless of when the conflict in Iran ends — due to these costs working their ways through global supply chains.”
Here is a table showing the PMI's components.
