Chicago PMI retreats to 58.7 in March

Chicago, march 29 (Xinhua) -- The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index (Chicago PMI), also known as Chicago Business Barometer, fell 6 points to 58.7 in march from 64.7 in The previous month, but still high above The 50 neutral level.

The Chicago PMI is considered to be one of The leading indicators of The U.S. economy. The barometer averaged 60.0 in first quarter, down 3.5 percent on The fourth quarter of 2018 and 3.3 percent on The first quarter of 2018.

The march fall was led by three of The five barometer components, with employment and supplier deliveries both increasing marginally, according to a statement released on Friday by The Institute for Supply Management Chicago.

Production and new orders pulled back from last month, while order backlogs shrank The most, with The indicator falling into contraction territory for The first time since January 2017.

Supplier delivery times remained broadly stable on The month, although The quarterly average was at The lowest level since The second quarter of 2017.

Despite volatility in demand and production in recent months, The need for labor has remained stable. The employment indicator was a touch above both The three-month and 12-month averages.

This month's special question was about firms' expectations about incoming orders in The second quarter. A total 46.8 percent firms expected orders to increase in The second quarter, while 14.8 percent saw Their orders plummeting, showing optimism below levels seen when companies were asked The same question last year.

"Although The barometer has comfortably remained above The 50 neutral level for more than two years now, survey evidence points to a slight slowdown since last year," said Shaily Mittal, senior economist at MNI, who helped compiled Chicago PMI data.

"The Fed's break from monetary tightening amid global uncertainty and softer inflation is seen underpinning optimism in The business environment," she added.