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 2.61
in May, up from a downwardly revised record-low -17.89 in April (originally -16.74),
pointing to a substantial increase in economic growth.
At the same
time, the index’s three-month moving average jumped to -6.65 in May from -7.50 in
April.
According to
the report, all four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index
made positive contributions in May, and all four categories rebounded from
April, led by gains in production- and employment-related indicators.
Production-related
indicators made a positive contribution of 0.89 to the CFNAI in May, up from -5.94
in April. Employment-related indicators contributed +1.53 to the CFNAI in May,
up from -9.06 in April. The contribution of the sales, orders, and inventories
category to the CFNAI increased to +0.02 in May from -1.59 in April. The
contribution of the personal consumption and housing category to the CFNAI improved
increased to +0.17 in May from -1.30 in April.