Clear as mud

The June ISM services index rose to 53.9 from 50.3 and that was above the forecast of 51.2. That compares with the year to date average of 52.9. New orders, after falling by 3.2 pts in May, rose 2.6 pts in June to 55.5. Backlogs fell almost 9 pts in May and bounced by 3 pts in June. Inventories jumped by 9 pts in May and fell back by 2.4 pts in June to …