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 -0.13 in September, down from a
revised +0.05 in August (originally +0.29), pointing to a contraction in economic
activity in the previous month. That was the worst print since February.
At
the same time, the index’s three-month moving average fell to +0.25 in
September from +0.38 in August.
According
to the report, one of the four broad categories of indicators used to construct
the index made a negative contribution in September, and one category
deteriorated from August. Production-related indicators made a negative
contribution of -0.37 to the CFNAI in September, down from -0.08 in the
previous month. Meanwhile, employment-related indicators contributed +0.16 to
the index in September, up from +0.09 in August. The contribution of the sales,
orders, and inventories category to the CFNAI improved to +0.07 in September
from +0.01 in the previous month. The personal consumption and housing category
contributed +0.02 to the CFNAI, unchanged from August.