Via FTAlphaville comes a point I’ve been making repeatedly myself:
The purchasing managers’ indices are among the world’s most closely watched economic indicators, moving markets and provoking policymakers to act. And with good reason.
The polls — most of which are compiled by data firm IHS Markit — offer an early sign of how well, or badly, the economy is faring. While GDP data are only available with a lag of, at best, four weeks after the end of each quarter, the PMIs offer a near-instantaneous insight into how well activity has fared over the past month. Over time, they also tend to mirror GDP.
