The Chicago PMI came in at 50.0 for July. It registered 43.4 in July. Quite a jump and remember anything at 50 or above indicates expansion. No second derivative, we’re bleeding more slowly kind of stuff.

All of the components that are used to calculate the final number showed improvement and two — Production and new orders were also above 50. Production came in at 52.9 and new orders at 52.5. Things weren’t so rosy with the employment component, it rose to 38.7 from 35.3. It’s probably too soon to read too much into that but keep an eye on it.

It might be no more than an inventory rebuild driving these numbers, but hey, you have to start somewhere. Maybe we get some momentum out of all of this and keep rolling along. Still, with the consumer still planted firmly on the sidelines, it’s hard to get too excited.