The Chicago Federal Reserve announced on Monday the Chicago Fed national activity index (CFNAI), a weighted average of 85 different economic indicators, stood at -0.43 in January 2019, down from a revised +0.05 in September (originally +0.27), pointing to a decrease in economic growth. 

At the same time, the index’s three-month moving average declined slightly to +0.09 in January from +0.18 in the prior month. 

According to the report, only one of the four broad categories of indicators that make up the index from December, and two of the four categories made negative contributions to the index in January.

The employment-related indicators made a contribution of +0.05 to the CFNAI in January, up slightly from +0.02 in December. The sales, orders, and inventories category contributed +0.02 to the CFNAI in January, up slightly from a neutral contribution in December. Meanwhile, the contribution of the personal consumption and housing category to the CFNAI edged up to -0.04 in January from -0.06 in December, while the contribution of the production-related indicators fell to -0.45 in January from +0.08 in December.