Glossary
ISM PMI
Monthly purchasing managers' indexes for US manufacturing and services from the Institute for Supply Management. A reading above 50 signals expansion.
The ISM PMI reports are monthly purchasing managers' indexes from the Institute for Supply Management. The Manufacturing PMI is published on the first business day of the month and the Services PMI on the third, both after 10:00 New York time. The Manufacturing PMI is a composite of five equally weighted indexes: new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries and inventories.
Example
A Manufacturing PMI of 48.0 means the sector is generally contracting; 52.0 means it is generally expanding. The July 2026 Manufacturing report came out on Monday, 3 August 2026, the first business day of August, and the August Services report on Thursday, 3 September 2026, the third business day of September.
Why it matters
Because the reports arrive at the start of the month, they are among the first readings on the previous month's activity. In our lab, the early-direction effect on gold after the two ISM releases and seven other US releases was positive until 2018 and negative in every year from 2020.