This website is best viewed in a browser that supports web standards.

Skip to content or, if you would rather, Skip to navigation.

Listen Live
Donate
MARYVILLE

KXCV-KRNW


News Brief

Oct. 24, 2023Omaha, Neb. |  By: Jeremy Werner

Rural Mainstreet Index hits lowest point this year

economy

OMAHA, Neb. - The Rural Mainstreet Index has reached its lowest point in 2023, dropping to 44.4 in October from 49.5 in September.

The latest survey of bank CEOs in 10 Midwestern states, including our listening area, indicates a decline in economic conditions.

Creighton University Economics Professor Dr. Ernie Goss attributes this to several factors, including high interest rates impacting farm equipment sales, tightening credit standards by 25% of surveyed bankers, and the continuing drought affecting the rural economy.

Global economic slowdown, unrest in the Middle East, including the Hamas-Israeli war, contribute to rising fuel prices and potential future increases in interest rates.

Goss adds that interest rates will climb once more this year and that surveyed bankers still believe a banking crisis will happen in the next few months or early next year.