# Flash PMIs on 23 September: release times, and what the US, eurozone and UK showed in August > S&P Global publishes its September flash PMIs on Wednesday 23 September, from 07:15 UTC for France to 13:45 UTC for the United States. August's US reading was a 52-month high and the eurozone's a nine-month high. - Canonical URL: https://forextradingcommunity.com/news/flash-pmi-23-september-2026-preview/ - Type: Preview - Published: 2026-09-22 - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Publisher: Forex Trading Community (https://forextradingcommunity.com), FTC Editorial Team - Currencies: USD, EUR, GBP S&P Global publishes the September flash PMIs on Wednesday 23 September 2026, with Japan following on Thursday 24 September. They are the first survey readings on business activity for the month, released about a week before the final figures ([week-ahead calendar](/news/forex-week-ahead-21-25-september-2026/)). ## Release times Times are UTC, with local time in brackets: - **Australia**: 23:00 on 22 September (09:00 AEST) - **France**: 07:15 (09:15 CEST) - **Germany**: 07:30 (09:30 CEST) - **Eurozone**: 08:00 (10:00 CEST) - **United Kingdom**: 08:30 (09:30 BST) - **United States**: 13:45 (09:45 EDT) - **Japan**: 00:30 on 24 September (09:30 JST) ## What the flash readings showed in August The August flash PMIs were published on 21 August: - **United States**: composite output index 56.0 (July: 54.5), a 52-month high. Services business activity rose to 56.8 (July: 54.6), a 20-month high, while manufacturing output fell to 51.9 (July: 53.9), a 13-month low, and the manufacturing PMI to 53.2, a five-month low. S&P Global said price pressures cooled - **Eurozone**: composite output index 52.1 (July: 52.0), a nine-month high. Services stayed at 51.7, while manufacturing output rose to 53.4, a 54-month high, and the manufacturing PMI to 52.8, a 51-month high - **United Kingdom**: composite output index 52.5 (July: 52.2), a four-month high. Services rose to 52.8 (July: 52.1), a six-month high, while manufacturing output fell to 51.2, a five-month low S&P Global compares each flash reading with the final figure for the previous month. For the US, the final August data were published on 1 September for manufacturing and 3 September for services and composite readings, and those final figures can differ slightly from the flash numbers above. ## What a flash PMI is, and how far to trust it A PMI is a diffusion index built from a monthly survey of business panels: above 50 means activity grew compared with the previous month, below 50 means it shrank ([PMIs explained](/news/pmi-explained/) has the detail). Flash data are calculated from around 80–90% of total responses and are meant to give an accurate early indication of the final data. For the US composite, the average difference between the flash and final index has been 0.1 points, with an average absolute difference of 0.4. The US survey panels cover around 650 manufacturers and 500 service providers, and data are collected in the second half of the month. ## What traders will look at - **US services against manufacturing**: whether services keep the momentum of August while factories cool. The Federal Reserve raised rates on 16 September ([report](/news/fed-raises-rates-september-2026/)), and industrial production was flat in August ([report](/news/us-industrial-production-august-2026/)) - **Eurozone manufacturing**: whether it holds the gains of the last two months after the European Central Bank's increase ([report](/news/ecb-raises-interest-rates-september-2026/)) - **Prices and employment components**, which central banks read alongside inflation data - **The reaction in currencies**: [EUR/USD](/markets/eur-usd/) and [GBP/USD](/markets/gbp-usd/) often move within minutes of the European and US releases Japan's flash PMI is a day later because Wednesday 23 September is a public holiday there. ## Sources - [S&P Global: PMI release dates, September/October 2026 (updated 16 September 2026)](https://www.pmi.spglobal.com/Public/Home/PDF/UK_Rel_Dates) - [S&P Global: Flash US PMI, 21 August 2026](https://www.pmi.spglobal.com/Public/Home/PressRelease/552d682e429640fcb8af7da17ad060c3) - [S&P Global: Flash Eurozone PMI, 21 August 2026](https://www.pmi.spglobal.com/Public/Home/PressRelease/96fc596680084e9b86502a39ca84c6b8) - [S&P Global: Flash UK PMI, 21 August 2026](https://www.pmi.spglobal.com/Public/Home/PressRelease/cd324ddf91f64bdb8c119dad8bfe7912) ## Common questions ### When are the flash PMIs for September 2026 released? On Wednesday 23 September 2026 for Australia, France, Germany, the eurozone, the UK and the US, and on Thursday 24 September for Japan, according to S&P Global's release calendar. ### What time is the US flash PMI released? At 13:45 UTC, which is 9:45 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, on Wednesday 23 September 2026. The eurozone flash is at 08:00 UTC and the UK flash at 08:30 UTC. ### What was the US flash PMI in August 2026? The composite output index was 56.0, up from 54.5 in July and a 52-month high. Services business activity was 56.8 and the manufacturing PMI 53.2, according to S&P Global's release of 21 August. ### What does a PMI above 50 mean? It means business activity grew compared with the previous month; a reading below 50 means it shrank. The further from 50, the faster the change. ### How accurate is the flash PMI? Flash data use around 80–90% of the survey responses that the final figure does. For the US composite, the average difference between flash and final has been 0.1 points, with an average absolute difference of 0.4. ### Why is Japan's flash PMI released on 24 September? S&P Global's calendar lists it for Thursday 24 September at 09:30 JST. Wednesday 23 September is Autumnal Equinox Day, a public holiday in Japan. --- This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Trading forex and CFDs carries a high risk of losing money.