Investing.com -- Bolstered by improvements in the Production-related indicator, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index edged higher for the month of January, one month after experiencing a slight decline.
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) increased to +0.13 in January, from a three-month average of negative 0.07 for the month of December. Three of the four indicators that comprise the index -- employment-related indicators, consumption-related indicators and production-related indicators -- increased for the month, while only one indicator made a negative contribution to the index in January.
Industrial and Manufacturing production both increased by 0.2% in January, as production-related indicators made a positive 0.02 % contribution on the month -- up from a negative 0.22 contribution in December. An indicator on Sales, Orders and Inventories also increased to a positive 0.03 after producing a reading of neutral in December.
Employment-related indicators fell from plus 0.18 in January from plus 0.28 a month earlier, as the unemployment rate moved up slightly from 5.6 to 5.7 percent.
Though the Personal Consumption and Housing indicator still remained below zero for January, it increased to negative 0.1 for the month from negative 0.13 in December.
The CFNAI is a weighted average of 85 existing monthly indicators of national economic activity.