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 0.83
in October, up from an upwardly revised 0.32 in August (originally 0.27),
pointing to faster growth in economic activity than in the previous month.
At the same
time, the index’s three-month moving average fell to +0.51 in October from
+0.55 in September.
According to
the report, three of the four broad categories of indicators used to construct
the index made positive contributions in October, and three of the four
categories increased from September.
Production-related
indicators made a positive contribution of +0.36 to the CFNAI in October, up
from -0.10 in September. Employment-related indicators contributed +0.39 to the
CFNAI in October, up from +0.30 in September. The contribution of the sales,
orders, and inventories category to the CFNAI improved to +0.08 in October from
a neutral value in September. Meanwhile, the contribution of the personal
consumption and housing category to the CFNAI moved down to -0.01 in October
from +0.12 in September.