The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is an economic indicator derived from monthly surveys of private sector companies. It is a diffusion index that summarizes whether market conditions are expanding, staying the same, or contracting as viewed by purchasing managers. The PMI is widely used to anticipate changing economic trends in official data such as GDP, or sometimes as an alternative gauge of economic performance and business conditions to official data. The PMI is a composite index based on equal weights of several sub-indices, including new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries, and inventories. The headline PMI is a number from 0 to 100, where a PMI above 50 represents an expansion when compared with the previous month, a PMI reading under 50 represents a contraction, and a reading at 50 indicates no change. The PMI is usually released on a monthly basis, offering up-to-date information about the economic activity in the manufacturing or services sector. The PMI is an important leading indicator that provides valuable insights into the state of the economy and can move financial markets.