The seasonally adjusted final Markit U.S. Services Business Activity Index rebounded to 55.6 in January, up from December's three-month low of 53.9. Moreover, the latest reading was comfortably above the average for Q4 2016 (54.4) and signalled the fastest rate of business activity growth since November 2015.

Higher levels of business activity were mainly linked to improved sales growth and a more supportive economic backdrop. January's survey data revealed a robust and accelerated increase in new work received by service sector companies. The rate of expansion was the fastest since July 2015. Anecdotal evidence linked the rise to greater levels of business and consumer spending at the start of 2017.