The US service sector contracts for the first time in three years

BlockBeatNews · 2026-04-03T14:07:06+00:00

The U.S. economy is facing inflationary and uncertainty pressures, with the service sector contracting for the first time since January 2023. The overall annualized growth rate is only 0.5%. The main impact is on the consumer services industry, while finance and technology sectors are also showing signs of weakening. Consumer price inflation is expected to accelerate to nearly 4%.

BlockBeatNews

2026-04-03 14:07:06

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BlockBeats news, April 3. S&P Global Market Intelligence chief business economist Chris Williamson said that PMI survey data shows the U.S. economy is under pressure from rising prices and increasing uncertainty, and that the war in the Middle East has further intensified concerns about other near-term policy decisions. The services sector fell into contraction for the first time since January 2023, dragging overall economic growth to an almost stalled level, with a 3-month annualized growth rate of only 0.5% in March. The most affected was consumer-facing services; excluding the period of COVID lockdowns, March’s decline was one of the largest since data became available in 2009.

Financial services and technology sectors, which performed strongly last year, showed signs of some weakening under the impact of concerns about volatility in financial markets and rising interest rates. The key driver of worsening economic growth is a slowdown in spending, driven by falling purchasing power, while a surge in energy prices in March lifted costs and sales prices sharply. Survey data shows that businesses’ willingness to pass costs on to customers in the coming months is increasing, and consumer price inflation could accelerate to nearly 4%. (Jin10)

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