what does a high pmi reading indicate 
the purchasing managers index reading can range between 0 and 100 if the index reading is higher than 50 then it indicates an economic expansion this means that the closer the reading is to 100 the higher the degree of positive economic growth a reading below 50 indicates an economic contraction with readings closer to 0 indicating a higher degree of contraction a reading of 50 indicates no change in the economic environment the bottom lineinvestors economists and analysts have a wealth of information to help them gauge where the economy is headed one leading indicator is the pmi released every month it is derived from a survey sent out by the institute for supply management to more than 400 companies in various sectors responses are compiled and a reading is reported based on how these companies feel about the current economic climate a high reading indicates positive growth while a low one points to a contraction 