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 +0.53 in July, up from a revised -0.01 in June (originally +0.09), pointing to a pickup in economic growth in the previous month. That was the highest reading since March.

At the same time, the index’s three-month moving average rose +0.23 in July from +0.01 in June.

According to the report, three of the four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index made positive contributions in July, and three categories improved from June. Production-related indicators made a marginal positive contribution of +0.38 to the CFNAI in July, up from -0.09 in June. Employment-related indicators contributed +0.30 to the CFNAI in July, up from +0.14 in the previous month. The contribution of the sales, orders, and inventories category to the CFNAI improved to +0.02 in July from -0.06 in June. Meanwhile, the personal consumption and housing category contributed -0.15 to the CFNAI, down from +0.01 in June.