A new survey of bankers in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states suggests they expect the economy to slow down over the next few months as the nation deals with the coronavirus outbreak. The overall score for the region in the Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index fell to 35.5 in March from February's healthy 51.6 reading. Any score below 50 suggests a shrinking economy.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said 61 percent of the bankers surveyed expect the measures being taken to fight the coronavirus to lead to a recession. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
The Kansas RMI for March plunged to 32.0 from February's 54.0. The state's farmland-price index increased to 45.0 from 44.3 in February. The new-hiring index for Kansas wilted to 31.9 from 59.4 in February. Between 2018 and 2019, total exports for the state expanded by 0.2% with food and agricultural commodities representing 33.8% of total exports for 2019.
