The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) is up to a positive 0.18 in May after minus 0.26 in April. The reading is well above the consensus of minus 0.40 in the Econoday survey of forecasters. The report said,"Three of the four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index increased from April, and two categories made positive contributions in May."

The three-month moving average is down to minus 0.09 in May after minus 0.05 in April.

In May, production-related indicators show a positive contribution of 0.23 after minus 0.15 in April. Sales, orders, and inventories are little changed in May at minus 0.02 after minus 0.01 in April. Employment-related indicators are up to 0.00 (neutral) in May after minus 0.05 in April. Indicators released for personal consumption and housing are higher at minus 0.03 in May from minus 0.06 in April.

The national activity index is expected to fall to minus 0.40 in May from April's already weak minus 0.23.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) is a monthly index that tracks overall economic activity and inflationary pressures. The CFNAI is a weighted average of 85 existing monthly indicators of national economic activity. It is constructed to have an average value of zero and a standard deviation of one. Since economic activity tends toward trend growth over time, a positive index reading corresponds to growth above trend and a negative index reading corresponds to growth below trend.

This index is unique among regional Federal Reserve Bank indexes in that it is national in scope. Investors are eager to have insight into economic growth and inflation. This index combines 85 diverse and already released indicators from four broad categories -- production and income; employment, unemployment, and hours; personal consumption and housing; and sales, orders, and inventories -- into an overall index to measure economic performance. The index provides another measure with which investors can measure overall growth.