Activity in the US services sector contracted for the second time in three months, according to the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) monthly survey published on Wednesday.

The ISM services index came in at 48.8 in June, down five points on May (53.8), whereas economists were expecting it to average around 52.5.

This is the second time in three months, after April, that the indicator has fallen below the 50-point mark separating growth and contraction in activity.

In just over four years (49 months), the statistic has only fallen below this threshold on three occasions, says the ISM.

Several sub-indices fell below the 50-point mark last month, including the new orders component (47.3 after 54.1 in May), while that measuring employment sank into contraction territory (46.1 vs. 47.1).

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