MNI Indicators released a report on Thursday showing is reading on Chicago-area business activity unexpectedly slid into contractionary territory in the month of April.
The report said the Chicago business barometer fell to 49.2 in April from 52.8 in March, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. Economists had expected the business barometer to rise to 55.3.
The Chicago business barometer returned to contractionary territory after three months above 50 amid declines by the order backlogs, new orders, supplier deliveries and production indexes.
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Forex News
June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.