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The economy of the greater Chicago region grew a bit faster in December despite new stress caused by the omicron strain of the coronavirus.
The Chicago Business Barometer, also known as the Chicago PMI, rose to 63.1 this month from 61.8 in in November. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal forecast a reading of 62.
The region’s economy is still quite robust. Any reading above 50 signals growth and numbers above 60 are considered exceptional.
The index is viewed as a good weathervane for U.S. manufacturing and the broader American economy given the diverse mix of businesses surveyed.
The survey is produced by the ISM-Chicago with MNI. It is released to subscribers three minutes before its release to the public at 9:45 am Eastern.
The Chicago PMI is the last of the regional manufacturing indices before the national ISM data for November is released on Tuesday. The ISM report has also been quite strong for most of the past year.
Stocks
DJIA,
SPX,
held onto modest gains after the Chicago PMI report.
