Chicago Fed National Activity Index rises to 0.83 in October

The Chicago Federal Reserve announced on Monday the Chicago Fed national activity index (CFNAI), a weighted average of 85 different economic indicators, came in at 0.83 in October, up from an upwardly revised 0.32 in August (originally 0.27), pointing to faster growth in economic activity than in the previous month.

At the same time, the index’s three-month moving average fell to +0.51 in October from +0.55 in September.

According to the report, three of the four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index made positive contributions in October, and three of the four categories increased from September.

Production-related indicators made a positive contribution of +0.36 to the CFNAI in October, up from -0.10 in September. Employment-related indicators contributed +0.39 to the CFNAI in October, up from +0.30 in September. The contribution of the sales, orders, and inventories category to the CFNAI improved to +0.08 in October from a neutral value in September. Meanwhile, the contribution of the personal consumption and housing category to the CFNAI moved down to -0.01 in October from +0.12 in September.