US Manufacturing PMI: ISM or Markit?

Yeap. Those same three letters you see every month on the economic calendar. First, you should understand that PMI stands for Purchasing Managers’ Index.
This index is released each period in more than 30 countries by Markit. But in the United States, the Institute of Supply Management develops a separate similar index. Before thinking of which one is best, let’s focus on what PMI figures actually tell us.
Both indexes are designed to provide a feeling on the activity of purchasing managers in the private sector. According to Markit Group, surveys for manufacturing sector cover a wide variety of fields, such as “output, new orders, new export orders, backlogs of work, output prices, input prices, suppliers’ delivery times, stocks of finished goods, quantity of purchases, stocks of purchases, employment.”
However, Markit offers a monthly PMI index for other sectors, including services, construction and a compiled version. Keep in mind that those versions are not necessarily available in all countries that Markit operates with.
For those trading exclusively in the United States equity markets, the ISM PMI could be a better alternative as it covers all the North American Industry Classification System in their surveys. On the contrary, Markit Group uses a large base of over 400 companies but which belong entirely to the private sector.
You can access ISM latest PMI report here: https://goo.gl/AkCulu
You can access Markit latest PMI report here: https://goo.gl/N2IiIl

How to read PMI reports?
If the index comes above 50, it marks that the sector is expanding, while a reading below 50 shows contraction. While data might not be extremely moving for traders, they use it to estimate production volumes and other indicators related to the manufacturing sector.
A higher-than-expected reading in the Manufacturing PMI is seen as a bullish signal for the US dollar, while a neutral or lower-than-expected results could push the greenback downwards.

Upcoming Releases
21.02.17 /// US /// Preliminary Markit Manufacturing PMI (February)
21.02.17 /// US /// Preliminary Markit Services PMI (February)
01.03.17 /// US /// ISM Manufacturing PMI (February) 01.03.17 /// US /// Markit Manufacturing PMI (February)

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