By Ed Frankl
Business activity unexpectedly fell in the Chicago area in January, reflecting deteriorating production, although other components showed improving conditions, according to a survey published Wednesday.
The Chicago Business Barometer fell to 46.0 from an upwardly revised 47.2 in December, data from a survey compiled by MNI indicators showed.
The reading flipped expectations that the index would rise to 48.0 according to a consensus economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
The barometer is compiled through surveys of firms in the Chicago area in order to assess business conditions and components including new orders, order backlogs, production, supplier deliveries and employment. It fell for the second consecutive month, remaining in contractionary territory, but was still above the 2023 average of 45.4.
All main components of the index rose in January except for the production measure, which plunged 9.9 points to 48.7, re-entering contraction, albeit this may have been partly due to severe weather, MNI said. Meanwhile, order backlogs, supplier deliveries, new orders and employment indexes all rose, the survey said.
Prices paid slipped for the first time since September, according to the data, indicating that cost pressures could be easing as inflation declines.
Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-31-24 1022ET
