The SVME PMI held steady in October. At 49.9, the latest reading matched the September print and beat the market consensus by 0.2 points. The index duly remains just short of the 50-growth threshold and essentially in line with stagnation in the manufacturing sector.

More generally, today's update provides a modest boost to both the Swiss RPI and RPI-P but, at minus 28 and minus 20 respectively, recent overall economic activity has still failed to keep up with market expectations.

The headline index is seen slipping from 49.9 in September to 49.7.

The SVME (Schweizerischer Verband für Materialwirtschaft und Einkauf) Association for Purchasing and Supply Management's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is produced in conjunction with Credit Suisse. The PMI provides an estimate of manufacturing business activity for the preceding month by using information obtained from a representative sector of purchasing managers. 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 PMI is very sensitive to the business cycle and tends to match growth or decline in the economy as a whole. To construct the PMI the Swiss Association of Purchasing and Materials Management conducts monthly surveys of purchasing executives on their performance in the current month versus the previous period. Because the amount of materials ordered by purchasing managers parallels the level of manufacturing production, the PMI is a gauge of production growth. The results are indexed with a centerline of 50; values above 50 indicate expectations of expansion and values below 50 indicate expectations of contraction for the manufacturing sector.