Chicago PMI - 11:42AM

Full report here. Chicago PMI Better than Expected Last Update: 30-Jun-09 10:08 ET According to the Institute of Supply Management-Chicago and Kingsbury International, Ltd., the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index increased to 39.9 in June from 34.9 in May. That was better than the consensus estimate of 39.0 and above the six-month average of 35.6. A reading below 50 still connotes a contraction in manufacturing activity in this region, although the uptick from May implies the rate of contraction has slowed. The June number improved month-to-month, aided by an uptick in new orders, which jumped to 41.6 from 37.3. In fact, increases were seen in every component index, although some increases didn't necessarily imply encouraging things. For instance, the inventories index went up to 34.2 from 31.5 and prices paid increased to 36.3 from 29.8. Separately, production improved to 39.3 from 38.1, order backlogs increased to 37.6 from 26.3, and employment edged up to 28.9 from 25.0. This survey was better than expected, but one needs to be careful not to extrapolate too much encouragement from it just yet knowing that it follows on the heels of a very problematic period for the auto industry, which is closely linked to the Chicago region. In other words, it could simply mark a temporary bounce from a very depressed situation.