Chicago Fed National Activity Index: Economic Growth Increased in December

The Chicago Fed's National Activity Index is a monthly indicator designed to gauge overall economic activity and related inflationary pressure. It is a composite of 85 monthly indicators as explained in this background PDF file on the Chicago Fed's website. The CFNAI is a forward-looking indicator that suggests how the economy will likely look in the near term and has been called one of the "most important and overlooked economic indicators". The index is constructed so a zero value for the index indicates that the national economy is expanding at its historical trend (average) rate of growth. Negative values indicate below-average growth, and positive values indicate above-average growth.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) rose to +0.15 in December from -0.01 in November. Two of the four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index increased from November and two categories made positive contributions in December.