The global economy continued to gain momentum in September. Output worldwide rose at a pace that has not been beaten since the growth spurt seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdowns, with new orders also growing globally at the fastest rate since October 2021.

Growth is being led by investment in technology amid the AI build-out, notably boosting manufacturing in economies such as the US, Taiwan, mainland China and Japan. A revival in consumer spending is also again evident, rebounding from the lows seen earlier in the year, helping broaden the upturn. Prices meanwhile continued to rise at an elevated rate in all major developed economies, fueling concerns over inflation, especially in economies such as the US and eurozone, where job markets have also improved.

However, some economies – including the UK, Italy, Australia, Canada and Brazil – are already showing signs of faltering growth amid rising costs, political uncertainty and raised borrowing costs, serving as a warning that sustained robust global growth is by no means assured.

To find out what the latest PMI data indicates for central bank policy decision making, how business confidence and inflation rates stack globally, worldwide manufacturing trends in emerging markets and what this month's PMI data means for us,  download the PMI pulse below.