Despite Latest Pandemic Surge, US Economy Continues to Pick Up Steam, Says New Report

Unlike the economies of other major western countries, including France and Germany, the U.S. is enjoying a late 2020 surge.

According to an index of business activity complied by data firm IHS Markit, the manufacturing and services sector made for a 57.9 reading in November, up from 56.3 the month before.

The index reading is also driving optimism about the near future, notes Chris Williamson, chief business economist with IHS Markit.

“Expectations about the year ahead have surged to the most optimistic for over six years,” Williamson told the Wall Street Journal, noting that a more upbeat outlook was being driven in part by the fact that the 2020 election is over and news that a Covid-19 vaccine is just around the corner.

The numbers as compiled by IHS also reflect the fastest recorded pace of national economic growth since November of 2015.

In a separate report, IHS is additionally reporting that the country’s Gross Domestic Product saw a 7% increase in October that was in part driven by personal consumption expenditures.

The report noted that monthly GDP has “climbed steadily over the last few months, albeit at a slower pace than over May and June, when the broad economy was reopening.”
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Based in London, IHS Markit is one of the world’s leading economic information providers.

​By Garry Boulard

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