A monthly indicator of economic health in nine Midwest and Plains states dropped in June.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss compiles the Mid-America Business Conditions Report. The index dropped to 57.2 in June, down four-tenths of a point from the May report. It’s the second month in a row the index has dropped.
Goss says economic troubles at the global level are hampering growth in the Midwest and Plains states. “But the question is, can this region continue to grow while the rest of the nation is still growing, but the growth is really coming down much more quickly and dramatically there than in our survey states.”
Goss says wholesale prices dropped significantly in the June report, a sign of slowing growth. He says that’s reflected in lower oil and agricultural commodity prices.
The survey includes Iowa and Nebraska.