Global services-sector readings for July offered a mixed picture, with the United States showing the sharpest divergence between two widely watched surveys. S&P Global’s final U.S. services PMI rose to 55.7, its highest level this year, lifting the composite index to 55.1 and signalling solid expansion. In contrast, the Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index slipped to 50.1, barely above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction, as employment fell to 46.4 and the prices-paid gauge jumped to 69.9, the strongest cost pressure since October 2022. Asia’s largest economies broadly strengthened. China’s Caixin/S&P Global services PMI climbed to 52.6—its best reading in 14 months—though the composite index eased to 50.8 as manufacturing remained weak. Japan’s services PMI inched up to 53.6 and India’s remained robust at 60.5, with the Indian composite measure touching 61.1. European data were softer. The euro-area services PMI edged down to 51.0 and the composite index to 50.9, masking stark national contrasts: Spain accelerated to 55.1, Italy held at 52.3 and Germany stayed barely positive at 50.6, while France slipped deeper into contraction at 48.5. The U.K. bucked the broader European trend, with its services PMI revised up to 51.8 and composite to 51.5. Taken together, the July figures point to pockets of resilience in services activity despite sluggish demand in several advanced economies and intensifying cost pressures, leaving central banks to weigh uneven growth against lingering inflation risks.