India has gained the top spot for both manufacturing and services activity globally, according to JP Morgan’s latest purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report for April 2025.The manufacturing PMI stood at a strong 58.2, with an even higher services PMI even higher at 58.7, pulling the strongest readings across both developed and emerging markets.PMI trends globallyIndia, ranked the highest among both the developed and emerging economies, with PMI figures suggesting that the economy is expanding at a healthy and consistent pace, reflecting strong business optimism, domestic demand and overall economic growth.In contrast, China lagged behind with a manufacturing PMI of 50.4 tracked by Markit and 49, as per NBS. In the services sector too, the Asian giant stood at 50.7 as per Markit and 50.1 by the national bureau of statics. Though the figures are healthy, the country lags far behind India’s impressive 58.7.The trend is similar across the US, Eurozone, UK, and Japan. The US manufacturing PMI from ISM came in at 48.7, while the services PMI stood at 51.6, just marginally above the 50 mark, signalling sluggish growth in services and a possible contraction in manufacturing.Europe’s manufacturing activity shrunk at 49, with services barely growing at 50.1. The UK saw both its manufacturing at 45.4 and services at 49. France also reported a weak momentum with 48.7 manufacturing PMI and services at 49.What is PMI?PMI or Purchasing Managers Index is a crucial indicator of a country’s economic performance in the manufacturing and services sector. A PMI above 50 indicates expansion, 50 shows no change in the sector, while below 50 hints at a decline in economic activity.
