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 -0.25 in January 2020, up from a revised -0.51 in December 2019 (originally -0.35), pointing to an uptick in economic growth.

Economists had forecast the index to come in at -0.92 in January.

At the same time, the index's three-month moving average rose to -0.09 in January from -0.23 in December.

According to the report, all four broad categories of indicators that make up the index improved from December, but only one of the four categories made a positive contribution to the gauge in January.

Production-related indicators made a negative contribution of -0.23 to the CFNAI in January, up from -0.34 in December. The contribution of the sales, orders, and inventories category to the CFNAI edged up to -0.02 in January from -0.06 in December. Employment-related indicators contributed -0.03 to the CFNAI in January, up from -0.12 in December. Meanwhile, the contribution of the personal consumption and housing category to the CFNAI ticked up to +0.03 in January from a neutral value in December.