Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)

The Index is widely used by industrialized economies to assess business confidence. Germany, Japan and the UK use PMI surveys for both manufacturing and services industries. The numbers are arrived at through a series of questions regarding Business activity, New Business, Employment, Input Prices, Prices Charged and Business Expectations. In addition to the headline figures, the prices paid components is highly scrutinized by the markets for evaluating pricing power and inflationary risks. Also see Institute for Supply Management (ISM) or National Association of Purchasing Managers (NAPM).

POTENTIAL IMPACT ON INTEREST RATES: MODERATE