US Economy Is Cooling, PMIs Suggest. Will Bonds Care?

Preliminary PMI data for the US released on Friday offered few surprises, which was just as well. This week saw enough fireworks without the activity data adding to the bond melee. The flash print on the S&P Global composite gauge for September was 50.1, a tick lower from August and just barely in expansion territory. It was the lowest reading since February. A measure of backlogs fell to 44.7, the lowest since May of 2020 and the new orders gauge retreated to the lowest levels of the year.