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 -4.19 in March, down from a revised +0.06 in February (originally +0.16), pointing to a substantial decrease in economic growth. That was the lowest level since January 2009.

At the same time, the index's three-month moving average fell to -1.47 in March from -0.20 in February.

According to the report, All four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index made negative contributions in March, and three of the four categories declined from February

Production-related indicators made a negative contribution of -2.72 to the CFNAI in March, down from -+0.06 in February. Employment-related indicators contributed -1.23 to the CFNAI in March, down from +0.07 in February. The contribution of the personal consumption and housing category to the CFNAI fell to -0.19 in March from -0.02 in February. Meanwhile, the contribution of the sales, orders, and inventories category to the CFNAI ticked up to -0.05 in March from -0.06 in February.