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Chicago Fed National Activity Index weakened in August
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Led by declines in production- and employment-related indicators, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index decreased to –0.43 in August from +0.02 in July. Contributions from three of the four broad categories of indicators that make up the index declined from July, and three of the four were negative in August.
The index’s three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, ticked down to –0.28 in August from –0.27 in July. August’s CFNAI-MA3 suggests that growth in national economic activity was below its historical trend. Likewise, the economic slack reflected in this level of the CFNAI-MA3 suggests subdued inflationary pressure from economic activity over the coming year.
Production-related indicators made a contribution of +0.01 to the index in August, down from +0.26 in July. Industrial production edged up 0.2 percent in August after rising 0.9 percent in July. Manufacturing production slowed, increasing 0.5 percent in August after increasing 0.6 percent in the previous month; but capacity utilization increased to 75.0 percent from 74.7 percent over the same period.
Posted: September 26, 2011 Monday 08:30 AM