April Chicago PMI

Updated: 08-Feb-22 19:11 ET

Highlights

• The MNI Chicago Business barometer, otherwise known as the Chicago PMI, dropped to 52.6 in April ( consensus 58.2) from 58.7 in March.
• The April reading marks the lowest level for the index since January 2017.

Key Factors

• Order backlogs was the only barometer component that increased from March.
• The Employment indicator fell to its lowest level since October 2017.
• The summary indicates factory gate prices saw their biggest monthly drop since December 2008, which was attributed in large part to steel prices.

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from the report is the acknowledgment from the senior economist at MNI that most barometer components have fallen below their 12-month averages, which suggests greater business uncertainty among firms.