Global services expand in September

Global economic data on Thursday were positive.

In China, the National Bureau of Statistics and Federation of Logistics and Purchasing reported that the non-manufacturing PMI rose to 55.4 in September, the highest in six months, from 53.9 in August.

In the euro area, Markit's services PMI rose to 52.2 in September from 50.7 in August, pushing the composite PMI to 52.2 from 51.5.

In another sign of recovery for the euro area on Thursday, retail sales rose 0.7 percent in August after a 0.5 percent increase in July.

In the UK, the Markit/CIPS services PMI fell to 60.3 in September from 60.5 in August but the average for the quarter was still the highest since the second quarter of 1997.

According to Markit, the combined surveys of British manufacturing, construction and services imply economic growth of 1.2 percent in the July-September period, the fastest rate of expansion since late 2007.

In the US, the Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index fell to 54.4 in September from 58.6 in August. The September reading still suggested expansion and is just slightly lower than the 54.7 average since the end of 2011.