Global Economic Analysis and News of Note: Global Manufacturing Index Hits Highest Level In More Than Six Years
- The JP Morgan global purchasing managers’ index (PMI) increased to 53.5 in October, a six-and-a-half year high, from 53.1 the month before. The bank said, “The global manufacturing PMI points to continued robust gains in production … [and] indicates that output growth remains broad-based across the consumer, intermediate and investment goods sectors.”
- Manufacturing readings for European nations improved last month. The IHS/Markit PMI reading for the United Kingdom increased to 58.5 in October from 58.1 in October. Markit said, “Growth of both output and new orders remained elevated, while the pace of job creation accelerated to a survey-record high.” The IHS/Markit reading for the United Kingdom, meanwhile, increased to 56.3 in October from 56.0 in September due to robust growth in output and new orders.
- Manufacturing readings in Asia were mixed last month. The Caixin PMI for China held steady at 51.0 between September and October. While new orders rose at a slightly quicker pace in China last month, production rose at the softest rate for four months. Nikkei’s index for Japan fell slightly, dropping to 52.8 in October from 52.9 in September. Despite the slight drop, Nikkei noted that “business conditions have improved in every month since September 2016.” South Korea’s reading fell to 50.2 from 50.6 due to a weaker rate of production. Taiwan’s index also dropped due to Softer increases in output, total new work, and export sales. The Nikkei ASEAN PMI, which covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, rose to 50.4 in October from 50.3 in September due to increases in output and new orders. Nikkei’s reading for India also fell, declining to 50.3 in October from 51.2 in September as the level of positive sentiment falls to the weakest since February.
- As a reminder, all PMI readings can be found here.