The MNI Chicago Business Barometer slipped to a three-month low of 63.6 in August, down 1.9 points from July's 65.5. Firms' operations continued to grow at a healthy pace in August, despite decelerating for the first time in five months. A softening in Supplier Deliveries, Order Backlogs and Employment offset gains in Production and New Orders, driving the decline in the Barometer. However, it still sits 6.9% higher on the year and continues to signal robust business conditions. August saw both demand and output inch higher, though broadly unchanged from their already-elevated July levels. Despite registering only minor changes on the month, the New Orders indicator is up 6.4% on the year while the Production indicator posted a 9.1% y/y rise