by Calculated Risk on 7/31/2014 09:52:00 AM

From the Chicago ISM: Chicago Business Barometer Down 10.0 points to 52.6 in July

The Chicago Business Barometer dropped 10.0 points to 52.6 in July, significantly down from May’s seven month high of 65.5, led by a collapse in Production and the ordering components, all of which have been strong since last fall.

A monthly fall of this magnitude has not been seen since October 2008 and left the Barometer at its lowest level since June 2013.

In spite of the sharp decline this month, feedback from purchasing managers was that they saw the downturn as a lull rather than the start of a new downward trend. This was especially so given the recent strong performance and the fact that Employment managed to increase further in July.
emphasis added

This was well below the consensus estimate of 63.0.