Chicago Fed Manufacturing Activity Positive, But Muted

Manufacturing activity was weak in the key Midwest region based upon the most recent data from the Chicago Fed. The National Activity Index was released this morning by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank and the reading in January was down to 0.22 from 0.54 in December.  This number has risen and fallen between positive and negative in the last year and that December figure was revised higher as it turned out that industrial and manufacturing output was actually above expectations.  Then there is the three-month average that rose to a reading of 0.14 from 0.06. The production component was -0.11 and the component for sales, orders, and inventories was 0.03 in January.

The summary was just “above average” in the report.  Full Fed Report