The Chicago Federal Reserve announced
on Tuesday the Chicago Fed national activity index (CFNAI), a weighted average
of 85 different economic indicators, came in at +0.03 in November, compared to a downwardly
revised -0.66 (from -0.49) in October, pointing to an increase in economic
growth in the previous month. This was the strongest
reading since July (+0.18).
Meanwhile, the index’s three-month moving average increased to -0.22 in November
from -0.26 in October.
According to the report, all four broad categories of indicators of the
CFNAI rose from October, and two of them made positive contributions.
The employment-related indicators contributed +0.03 to the CFNAI in November,
up from -0.15 in the previous month, while the personal consumption and housing
category contributed +0.04, up from -0.03 in October. At the same time, the
production-related indicators made a neutral contribution to the headline
indicator in November, up from -0.37 in October. Elsewhere, the sales,
orders, and inventories category contributed to the CFNAI -0.03, up from -0.11
in October.