Chicago national activity index improves to +0.18 in January

23rd Feb 2026 14:22

(Sharecast News) - The Chicago Federal Reserve's national activity index improved in January, pointing to a pickup in economic momentum at the start of the year.

The index rose to +0.18, up from -0.21 in December, its strongest reading since February 2025.

Production‑related indicators drove the improvement, contributing +0.19 compared with -0.03 previously, while employment edged slightly positive at +0.01 after a -0.11 reading in December.

Sales, orders and inventories remained marginally negative at -0.02, though this was an improvement on -0.04, and personal consumption and housing made a neutral contribution after detracting -0.04 a month earlier.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com