Mubasher: The US service sector growth slowed down at the beginning of the year, but registered an expansion for the 108th consecutive month, a report showed on Tuesday.

The non-manufacturing index (NMI) edged up to 56.7% last January from 58% in December 2018, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said.

The index for business activity climbed to 59.7% in January, down from 61.2% in the prior month, growing for the 114th straight month.

The index measuring new orders dropped 5% to 57.7% last month from the previous month, while the import index dipped to 52%, 1.5% lower than the prior month.

However, the gauge of employment in the sector rose 1.2% to 57.8% last month.

By 3:07 pm GMT, the US dollar index rose 0.18% to 96.0250.