US private sector business activity expanded at the briskest pace since June, preliminary data for January released on Wednesday showed.

The flash print on S&P Global’s composite gauge for the world’s largest economy was 52.3, up from 50.9 in December and the highest in seven months. It marked the third straight month of expansion.

The services print, 52.9, easily topped consensus and came in higher than the most optimistic projection from the 14 economists who braved a guess. January marked a dozen months of expansion for the US services sector.

Notably, the manufacturing gauge stormed back into expansion territory, rising to a 15-month high at 50.3. January was the first time both gauges registered above the 50 demarcation line together since October.

Although manufacturers raised output prices at the quickest pace in nine months, that was more than offset by the slowest increase in services-side selling prices of the entire inflationary period. The survey cited competition for new orders.

The overall rate of increase for average prices charged across the US economy was the slowest since May of 2020, S&P Global said.

The figure above suggests the output prices gauge has now normalized completely, consistent with the decline in the headline rate of consumer price growth.

Although Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, cautioned that supply chain frictions may be reemerging while still-tight labor markets keep pressure on wage bills, he said that “for now” the “clear and welcome message” from the survey is “resilient growth and sharply waning inflation.”

January marked a third month of improving new orders, which the release said reflects domestic demand. That, in turn, buoyed sentiment, with firms expressing a level of optimism not seen since May of 2022. Williamson said selling-price inflation is now trending below the pre-pandemic average, which suggests CPI may actually undershoot the Fed’s target.

You can sort through the release all you want, but ultimately, it screamed “Goldilocks!”