On October 5, the Institute for Supply Management reported that U.S. services activity continued to expand in September, though more slowly than in August. Its Services PMI fell 0.5 point to 54.9; readings above 50 indicate expansion. New orders remained strong at 59.8, and the employment index returned to expansion at 50.1 after three months below 50. The cost signal was less reassuring: the prices index rose 1.4 points to 74.0, its highest since July 2022. That survey index measures how widespread price increases are among respondents, not the percentage by which prices rose. Reuters reported that fuel costs and supply-chain pressures featured prominently in business comments. The survey is a timely pulse, not a count of jobs or a direct measure of consumer inflation. It shows firms reporting cost pressure, but it cannot establish how much they will pass on to customers or when that might show up in official inflation data.