US: Non-manufacturing ISM beats estimate in August

In August, the non-manufacturing ISM rose from 46.4 to 48.4, slightly above the consensus estimate. Both business activity (51.3 from 46.1) and new export orders (54.0 from 47.5) rose above the 50 boom/bust level in August, while new orders halted just below the benchmark level (49.9 from 48.1). Also inventory sentiment (67.5 from 62.5), employment (43.5 from 41.5) and imports (49.0 from 45.0) im-proved, while backlog of orders (41.0 from 42.0), supplier deliveries (49.0 from 50.0) and