by Calculated Risk on 6/30/2016 09:53:00 AM

Chicago PMI: June Chicago Business Barometer Up 7.5 Points to 56.8

The MNI Chicago Business Barometer rose 7.5 points to 56.8 in June from 49.3 in May, the highest since January 2015, led by strong gains in New Orders and Production.

June’s rebound was just enough to offset the previous two months of weakness, leaving the Barometer broadly unchanged over the quarter at an average of 52.2 in Q2 compared with 52.3 in Q1. New Orders increased sharply on the month to the highest since October 2014 ...
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Chief Economist of MNI Indicators Philip Uglow said, “June’s sharp increase in the MNI Chicago Business Barometer needs to be viewed in the context of the weakness seen in April and May. Looking at the three-month average provides a better guide this month to the underlying trend in the economy with activity broadly unchanged between Q1 and Q2. Still, on a trend basis activity over the past four months is running above the very low levels seen around the turn of the year.”
emphasis added

This was above the consensus forecast of 50.5.