FX.co ★ Italy Composite PMI at 3-Month High

The HCOB Italy Composite PMI rose to 52.1 in February 2026 from 51.4 in January, signaling the fastest expansion in private sector activity in three months. Manufacturing returned to growth for the first time in three months (50.6 vs 48.1), while the pace of expansion in services eased slightly (52.3 vs 52.9). New business posted a moderate, broad-based increase. Although firms still had enough capacity to reduce outstanding work, the pace of backlog depletion was the slowest since July of the previous year. At the same time, overall employment in the private sector grew at the strongest rate in eight months, with hiring more robust in services than in manufacturing. On the price front, rising cost pressures in both sectors pushed the composite input cost index to its second-highest level in nearly a year, lower only than the reading recorded in November 2025. A similar strengthening was seen in output price inflation, with the rate of increase reaching a seven-month high.