The U.S. economy is still plowing ahead despite rising coronavirus cases.
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The U.S. economy expanded in October at the fastest pace in 20 months , a new survey showed, but companies acted cautiously with coronavirus still spreading and the presidential election potentially trigging a major shift in business rules.
The IHS Markit PMI indexes for both the service and manufacturing sides of the economy rose in October. The index is compiled from surveys of senior business executives.
The index for services such as health care, technology and hospitality, by far the largest sector of the economy, climbed to 56.0 in October from 54.6 in the prior month. It was the highest level in 20 months.
The index for the smaller but still large U.S. manufacturing sector, meanwhile, edged up to 53.3 from 53.2. That was a 21-month high.
Although the index readings have shown much improvement in the past several months, the U.S. economy is still in a shrunken state compared to before the pandemic struck. Economists say it could take a year or even longer for growth to return to normal.
Still, the latest IHS readings suggest the economy continued to expand at a moderate pace at the start of the third quarter and shows little sign of backtracking.
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