Well, THAT sure was a surprise ...

The Chicago Purchasing Manager's index came in at a whopping 61.7 in March. That was way, way above the 49.3 reading that was expected, and the highest reading in almost two years. The month-to-month increase from 47.9 in February was the single-largest gain recorded since the data was first collected in 1968. As Keanu Reeves so eloquently said in The Matrix: "Whoa."

Construction spending was also above expectations, at +0.3% vs. a -0.4% forecast. The strength was all in commercial construction (+1.5% from January). Residential construction slumped again, by 1%.

Bonds are getting taken apart on these stats, as you might expect. The long bond is now down 12/32, its 11th down day out of the past 13 sessions.