US DATA
The Chicago Business Barometer™, produced with MNI, increased 12.0 points to 47.4 in June. This is the first monthly rise after sixth consecutive monthly falls, making this month’s reading the highest since November 2023 with the index seeing the largest monthly increase since September 2020.
- All five subcomponents rose. With New Orders leading the improvement, followed by Order Backlogs, Production, Employment and Supplier Deliveries.
- New Orders increased by 16.9 points, after three consecutive months of decline, returning to similar levels seen in Q1-24.
- Production expanded 11.0 points to 54.6, the second successive monthly increase, bringing it to the highest since December 2023.
- Order Backlogs also rose 14.2 points, marking the highest level since November 2023.
- Employment progressed 6.9 points to 44.1, the highest for 3 months, largely reversing the weakness seen across April and May. This improvement was in part due to 75% of respondents reporting the same level of employment, whilst less than a fifth reported lower levels of employment.
- Supplier Deliveries also edged up for the second consecutive month by 2.6 points, resulting in the highest level since January.
- Meanwhile, Prices Paid decreased by 11.9 points to 56.5, moving to their lowest level since June 2023.
- Finally, Inventories grew by 10.2 points, making the reading the highest since November 2023.
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