Financial News: Chicago Business Barometer Unexpectedly Plunges To Eight-M

Chicago Business Barometer Unexpectedly Plunges To Eight-Month Low In August

08/28/2026 - 10:15:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - MNI Indicators released a report on Friday unexpectedly showing a sharp pullback by its reading on Chicago-area business activity in the month of August.

The report said the Chicago business barometer plunged to 47.1 in August from 57.6 in July, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to rise to 59.0.

With the unexpected slump, the Chicago business barometer returned to contraction territory for the first time since April and hit its lowest level since December.

MNI Indicators said the steep drop by the Chicago business barometer was driven by declines by the new orders, order backlogs, production and supplier deliveries indexes.

The new orders index plummeted by 15.4 points, the order backlogs index tumbled by 12.1 points and the production index slumped by 8.8 points.

The order backlogs and production indexes dropped to their lowest levels since November, with the production index recording its first contractionary reading since December.

The report said the supplier deliveries index also eased by 2.6 points but remained in expansionary territory for the nineteenth consecutive month.

Meanwhile, the employment index climbed by 4.3 points to its first expansionary reading in five months, providing some positive offset.

MNI Indicators said the prices paid index also rose by 3.8 points to its highest level since February 2022.

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