US business activity moderates further in September

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. business activity slowed for a second straight month in September, and though firms complained about tariffs raising costs, they were not raising prices for their goods and services, which bodes well for the inflation outlook. S&P Global's flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, slipped to 53.6 this month from 54.6 in August. The survey's measure of prices paid by businesses for inputs increased to 62.6 from 60.8 last month, noting that "tariffs were again overwhelmingly cited as the principal cause of further cost increases."