The Purchasing Managers' Index is a survey-based indicator of business conditions in the manufacturing or services sector, with a reading above 50 signaling expansion and below 50 signaling contraction. Because it's released earlier than many official statistics, PMI is closely watched as an early read on economic momentum.
A string of PMI readings moving further from 50 in either direction often shifts interest-rate expectations, and with them the currency, well ahead of slower-moving GDP data.
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Guide
How to Check the Way a Currency Is Managed
The regime behind a currency is published, not inferred. The four primary sources that say how a rate is governed, what each one can and cannot tell you, and how to keep the answer from going stale.