Chicago Fed National Activity Index increases to 0.66 in January

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 0.66 in January 2021, up from a downwardly revised 0.41 in December 2020 (originally 0.52), pointing to faster expansion in economic activity than in the previous month. That was the highest reading since October 2020.

At the same time, the index’s three-month moving average decreased to +0.34 in January from +0.49 in December.

According to the report, all four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index made positive contributions in January, but three categories fell from December. Production-related indicators made a positive contribution of +0.28 to the CFNAI in January, down from +0.37 in December. Meanwhile, employment-related indicators contributed +0.01 to the CFNAI in January, down from +0.05 in the previous month. The contribution of the sales, orders, and inventories category to the CFNAI reduced to +0.02 in January from +0.05 in December. The contribution of the personal consumption and housing category to the CFNAI improved to +0.35 in January from -0.06 in December.