Slight dip in February Chicago PMI

Factory sector activity in the Chicago area slipped a tad in February, although the details were apparently less glum.

The Chicago Business Barometer slipped by 0.7 points from the month before to reach 43.6.

Economists had been anticipating a slight improvement to 45.0.

Yet whereas the subindices for production, employment and prices paid all recorded declines over the month, those for new orders, order backlogs and supplier deliveries increased, the Institute for Supply Management and MNI Indicators said.

The sub-index for employment fell by 4.7 points, that for prices paid by 7.2 points and that for output by 10.2 points.

A gauge of new orders rose by 3.0 points, that for order backlogs by 4.5 points and that for supplier deliveries by 3.6 points.

Except for the indicators tracking supplier deliveries and prices paid, all of the remainder were below the 50 point threshold separating a contraction from an expansion.