The S&P Global US Composite PMI dropped to 51.9 in February from 53 in January, the lowest in ten months and below preliminary estimates of 52.3. Growth was constrained by a broad-based weakening in the respective expansions in both manufacturing and service sector output. There was also a concurrent moderation in new business growth midway through the first quarter. Firms took on additional workers, but only fractionally as confidence in the outlook remained below its historical trend. Prices data meanwhile showed that increases in both costs and selling prices were little changed, and well above respective series averages.