PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index)

The PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) summarizes a monthly survey of purchasing managers; in manufacturing, it covers production, new orders, employment, supplier deliveries, and inventories. Above 50, conditions are improving; below it, they are deteriorating. S&P Global compiles the PMIs for the United States and the United Kingdom, those for the euro area under the HCOB brand (Hamburg Commercial Bank) and, for China, the RatingDog PMI, successor to the Caixin PMI since 2025. In several economies, a “flash” estimate, drawn from about 85% of responses, is released before the end of the month, at 10:00 a.m. Paris time for the euro area; the final figures usually follow on the first business day of the next month for manufacturing, the third for services. China also publishes an official PMI, from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), generally on the last day of the month. In the United States, the ISM runs its own, older survey, which weights these components equally, whereas S&P Global puts more weight on new orders. Upcoming releases: the economic calendar.