**MNI: 5 Things We Learned From MNI Chicago Business Barometer

By Jamie Satchithanantham

     **LONDON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the December MNI

Chicago Business Barometer:

     - The MNI Chicago Business Barometer rose 3.7 points to 67.6 in December,

ending the year at the highest level since March 2011. The Barometer has stood

in expansionary territory for the entire year, doing so for first time since

2014.

     - On a quarterly basis, the Barometer averaged 65.9 in Q4 -- the best

calendar quarter since Q1 2011. It was only the second time in the last decade

there have been three consecutive above-60 readings for the Oct-Dec period and

the first above-60 Q4 since 2013.

     - Production and New Orders both saw out the year at multi-year highs.

Production rose to 77.7 in December, the highest in 34 years, while New Orders

notched a three-and-a-half year high. Together, the two indicators account for

60% of the headline Barometer.

     - Stock levels rose considerably in December. The Inventories indicator

rose to 64.5, the highest since September 2014, amid reports of some firms

preparing new products for the coming year.

     - The Employment indicator dipped beneath the neutral-50 mark on only four

occasions in 2017, half as many times as last year. At 55.3 the December reading

was up 11.2% on last December's outturn.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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