Washington: US services sector activity expanded at a brisk pace in May and industries hired more workers, offering some respite for an economy that is slowing following a temporary boost from exports and an accumulation of inventories in the first quarter.

The survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Wednesday followed a raft of weak reports on consumer spending, housing and manufacturing that suggested a sharp loss of momentum in economic growth early in the second quarter.

Slowing growth, worsening trade tensions between the United States and China, and looming US tariffs on goods imported from Mexico have led some economists to expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year.

The US central bank early this year suspended its three-year monetary policy tightening campaign. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday said the central bank was closely monitoring the implications of the trade tensions on the economy and would “act as appropriate to sustain the expansion.”

“Though this won’t completely dismiss the rate-cut-this-year speculation, the much better-than-expected nonmanufacturing ISM print helps,” said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.