Chicago Fed National Activity Index points to a pickup in economic growth in May

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 -0.05 in May, up from a revised -0.48 in April (originally -0.45), pointing to an improvement in economic growth in May.

Economists had forecast the index to come in at -0.37 in April.

At the same time, the index’s three-month moving average rose to -0.17 in May from -0.37 in April.

According to the report, three of the four broad categories of indicators that make up the index increased from April, but only one of the four categories made a positive contribution to the index in May

The contribution from production-related indicators to the CFNAI moved up to +0.07 in May from -0.44 in April. The contribution of the personal consumption and housing category to the CFNAI improved to -0.06 in May from -0.08 in April. Meanwhile, the sales, orders, and inventories category made a neutral contribution to the CFNAI in May, up slightly from -0.02 in April. Employment-related indicators contributed -0.06 to the CFNAI in May, down from +0.05 in April.