Chicago Fed National Activity Index declines to -0.36 in July

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 -0.36 in July, sharply down from a revised +0.03 in June (originally -0.02), pointing to a slower economic growth.

Economists had forecast the index to come in at 0.11 in July.

At the same time, the index’s three-month moving average edged down to -0.19 in July from -0.15 in June.

According to the report, all four broad categories of indicators that make up the index dropped from June, and all four categories made negative contributions to the index in July.

Production-related indicators made a negative contribution of -0.25 to the CFNAI in July, down from +0.09 in June. Meanwhile, the contribution of the sales, orders, and inventories category to the CFNAI dropped -0.05 in July from -0.01 in June, while the contribution of the personal consumption and housing category to the CFNAI ticked down to -0.06 in July from -0.05 in June. The contribution of the employment-related indicators to the headline indicator worsened to -0.01 in July, down slightly from a neutral value in June.