U.S. manufacturing may be heading for contraction. The U.S. service sector is slowing, but it still remains strong. One surprise is the U.S. trade deficit, which shrunk to its lowest gap since February 2015. Mixed economic results driving concerns an unexpected event could trigger another correction. Data so far this week for the U.S. economy has been mixed, with manufacturing being the biggest disappointment, dropping to 51.1 from 52.7 in July, according to the Institute for Supply Management. Also slowing down was the U.S. service sector, which had its pace of growth drop from 60.3 in July to 59.0 in August. A reading under 50 on either of these benchmarks would indicate a contraction. The major concern is manufacturing is headed that way, as the last quarter of the year looks weak as well. On the U.S. trade deficit side of things, being down is good news, with it falling to $41.9 billion, a narrowing of the gap by 7.4 percent. That's the smallest gap since February 2015. This was a surprise of the teetering global economy and strong U.S. dollar, which usually hampers exports. Overall, it is obvious the U.S. economy is experiencing a slowdown, although for now, consumer spending is helping offset most of the other weakening sectors, as is a robust housing market, led by large companies buying up homes to rent primarily to millennials.

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