The MNI Chicago Business Barometer rose 7.5 points to 56.8 in June from 49.3 in May, the highest since January 2015, led by strong gains in New Orders and Production. June's rebound was just enough to offset the previous two months of weakness, leaving the Barometer broadly unchanged over the quarter at an average of 52.2 in Q2 compared with 52.3 in Q1.
New Orders increased sharply on the month to thehighest since October 2014, while Order Backlogs rose to the highest since March 2011, breaking a 16-month run of below 50 readings. Production also ncreased significantly to the highest since January 2016.