“The second quarter is off to a very good start on the services side and the manufacturing side”

The U.S. service sector expanded at a faster rate in April after hitting a four-year low in March, a trade group said Thursday, though concerns about energy costs persist.

The Tempe, Ariz.-based Institute for Supply Management, an organization of corporate purchasing executives, said its index of business activity in the non-manufacturing sector registered 56 in April, up from 52.4 in March. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.

Analysts said the report, in conjunction with a brightening outlook in the manufacturing sector, shows the economy may be recovering from the first quarter, when gross domestic product grew at an anemic 1.3 percent annualized rate. Read more

Original post by The Associated Press