By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. business activity slowed for a second straight month in September, and though firms complained about tariffs increasing costs they were not raising prices for their goods and services, which bodes well for the inflation outlook.

The survey from S&P Global on Tuesday suggested that businesses were absorbing most of the import duties and supported some economists’ argument that tariffs would not have a lasting impact on inflation.

Though inflation has picked up in recent months, prices have so far not skyrocketed as had been feared when President Donald Trump started rolling out his sweeping tariffs. Consumers have become picky and businesses have been selling merchandise accumulated before the import duties were imposed.

“Producers are absorb

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