Manufacturing activity was revised marginally firmer in the final data for September. However, at 44.3, the amended sector index was just 0.1 point stronger than its flash reading and, while up from August's final 43.0, still well short of the 50-expansion threshold. In line with the rest of Europe, UK manufacturing remains firmly in the doldrums.

Output fell for a seventh straight month as demand at home and abroad continued to contract and employment was trimmed for a twelfth successive month. Backlogs followed suit with their steepest drop since April 2020 during the early days of Covid. On balance, businesses were still optimistic about prospects for the year ahead but sentiment was weaker than in mid-quarter.

Weak demand and an eighth consecutive fall in vendor delivery times saw input costs decline again and at a rate close to August's 91-month record. Even so, factory gate prices increased for the first time in four months.

The final September data leave a depressed picture of UK manufacturing and, at least as importantly, offer little hope of any near-term recovery. However, with the UK RPI (2) and RPI-P (minus 6) both close to zero, overall economic activity is at least broadly keeping up with market expectations.

No revision is expected leaving the headline index at 44.2, up from August's final 43.0.

The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) provides an estimate of manufacturing business activity for the preceding month by using information obtained from a representative sector survey incorporating around 3,000 companies. Results are synthesised into a single index which can range between zero and 100. A reading above (below) 50 signals rising (falling) activity versus the previous month and the closer to 100 (zero) the faster is activity growing (contracting). The survey covers more than 600 industrial companies and is compiled by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) and S&P Global.

Investors need to keep their fingers on the pulse of the economy because it dictates how various types of investments will perform. By tracking economic data such as the ISM manufacturing index in the U.S. and the and S&P Global PMIs elsewhere, investors will know what the economic backdrop is for the various markets. The stock market likes to see healthy economic growth because that translates to higher corporate profits. The bond market prefers less rapid growth and is extremely sensitive to whether the economy is growing too quickly and causing potential inflationary pressures.

The PMI manufacturing data give a detailed look at the manufacturing sector, how busy it is and where things are headed. Since the manufacturing sector is a major source of cyclical variability in the economy, this report has a big influence on the markets. And its sub-indexes provide a picture of orders, output, employment and prices.