by Calculated Risk on 10/30/2015 10:00:00 AM

Chicago PMI: Oct Chicago Business Barometer Up 7.5 Points To 56.2

The Chicago Business Barometer increased 7.5 points to 56.2 in October from 48.7 in September, led by strong gains in both Production and New Orders.

The sharp increase in the Barometer pushed it to the highest since January and marks a promising start to the fourth quarter, building on the small gain made in Q3.
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Chief Economist of MNI Indicators Philip Uglow said, “The dissapointing September data look more like an aberration than the start of a trend, and the October results mark a good start to the final quarter of the year. Respondents were optimistic that orders will continue to pick-up, consistent with an acceleration in economic activity in Q4.“
emphasis added

This was well above the consensus forecast of 49.2.


Click on graph for larger image.

The final University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for October was at 90.0, down from the preliminary reading of 92.1, and up from 87.2 in September.