Mumbai, Dec. 31 -- A report released by MNI Indicators on Tuesday showed a significant rebound by its reading on Chicago-area business activity in the month of December.
MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer jumped to 43.5 in December after plunging to 36.3 in November. Economists had expected the index to rise to 39.5.
While the Chicago business barometer largely offset the steep drop seen in November, it remained below 50 for the twenty-fifth consecutive month, indicating a continued contraction.
The rebound by the headline index partly reflected a sharp increase by the new orders index, which shot up by 11.8 points, almost completely unwinding last month's fall.
The report said the production index also jumped by 9.6 poi...