On April 3, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, highlighted the pressures facing the U.S. economy due to rising prices and increasing uncertainty, according to Jin10. The PMI survey data indicates that the Middle East conflict has exacerbated concerns over recent policy decisions. The services sector contracted for the first time since January 2023, dragging overall economic growth down to an annualized rate of just 0.5% in March, nearing stagnation. The consumer-facing services industry was hit hardest, experiencing one of the largest declines since data collection began in 2009, excluding the pandemic lockdown period. The financial services and technology sectors, which performed strongly last year, showed signs of weakening amid financial market volatility and concerns over rising interest rates. The key factor in the deteriorating economic growth is reduced spending, driven by declining purchasing power, while surging energy prices in March significantly increased costs and sales prices. Survey data suggests that businesses are increasingly willing to pass costs onto customers in the coming months, potentially accelerating consumer price inflation to nearly 4%.