Daily Update — September 17, 2026
Multidimensional Energy Pathways; The Resilience Imperative; and Stubborn Inflation
Today is Thursday, September 17, 2026, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.
Energy Expansion
Multidimensional Global Energy Pathways
The global energy system has been in transition for decades, influenced by geopolitics, market factors and technological change. In recent years, it has experienced sustained volatility, facing geopolitical disruption, supply chain fragility, affordability pressures and fast‑changing national policies. To navigate this, the energy and climate discourse needs a path back to pragmatism — an objective, inclusive discussion recognizing the different perspectives of advanced and developing economies on energy and climate priorities. As highlighted in the 2023 International Energy Forum report “Shaping a Living Roadmap for Energy Transition,” long-term energy pathways must be multidimensional, recognizing the interplay and trade‑offs between energy security, affordability and sustainability, as well as the system constraints, delivery realities and regional conditions that determine how energy systems evolve.
This new study offers a realistic, nationally differentiated approach to long-term energy, emissions and climate projections. This synthesis, and the associated in‑depth analysis, provides pathways for emerging markets and developing economies, as well as for advanced economies.
Climate Risk & Resilience
The Resilience Imperative: S&P Global Sustainability Quarterly — Third-Quarter 2026 Special Edition
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of Sustainability Quarterly, S&P Global’s flagship sustainability research journal, and it comes at a pivotal moment. Sustainability in 2026 is a story of resilience — how stakeholders manage urgent and sometimes competing priorities in the face of disruption, uncertainty and rapid change.
The Middle East war, growing AI-driven power demands and increasingly frequent extreme weather events are reshaping the balancing act among energy security, affordability and sustainability. It is increasingly clear that the three parts of this energy trilemma can work in tandem. In this research, S&P Global explores some of the most pressing questions arising from this complex environment.
Global Economy
Global PMI hint at stubborn inflation amid energy and supply chain pressures
The latest official data points to global inflation cooling slightly in June and July from a peak in May, but Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data hints that it could rise again in the near term. Concerns stem from renewed upward price pressures in energy and supply chains, primarily linked to the ongoing Middle East war.
Measured across goods and services, average prices charged rose once again at an elevated rate by historical standards in August, according to the global PMI. Although the latest rise was the weakest since February, with the rate of inflation dropping for a fourth straight month, the index remains at a level indicative of higher global inflation than the 3.6% rate officially recorded for July. The leading indicator property of the PMI also hints at stubbornly high inflation running into 2027. Rates of selling price inflation for goods and services eased further in August, but both remained high, thanks to higher energy and raw material prices.
In case you missed it
- The Dallas Cowboys is the most valuable team in the National Football League, according to a new vanalysis of all 32 teams from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
- Bolivia's government announced Sept. 15 that it will triple a fund to finance refined fuel purchases, following similar moves by fellow Andean countries Peru and Ecuador to mitigate diesel shortages and rising prices.
- Most Latin American benchmarks rose during the first half of 2026. Amid heightened dispersion and volatility, fewer than half of active funds lagged their benchmarks, with first-half underperformance rates ranging from 24.5% to 46.3%.
Upcoming events
- AI in Banking: From Design to Implementation | September 21 (Webinar)
- From Macro Noise to Market Edge: Actionable Signals for Investors | September 29 (New York)
- Managing Country and Geopolitical Risk in an Era of Elevated Uncertainty | October 1 (New York)