United States Chicago Fed National Activity Index

Last Release

Aug 31, 2025

Actual

-0.12

Units In

Points

-0.28

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Oct 23, 2025

Time to Release

29 Days 15 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
6.01 Jun 2020	-17.79 Apr 2020	0 Points	1967-2025	Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) is designed to gauge overall economic activity and related inflationary pressure. The CFNAI is based on a weighted average of 85 existing monthly indicators of national economic activity. It has an average value of zero and a standard deviation of one. Since economic activity tends toward trend growth rate over time, a positive reading corresponds to growth above trend and a negative reading corresponds to growth below trend.

Latest Updates

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) for the US came in at -0.12 in August 2025, the highest in five months, compared to a downwardly revised -0.28 in August. The Index suggested that economic growth increased in August. Production-related indicators contributed -0.02, up from -0.17 in July. The sales, orders, and inventories category made a neutral contribution, up from -0.02. Employment-related indicators contributed -0.07, up from -0.10. The personal consumption and housing category's contribution was -0.03, down from +0.02 in July. Meanwhile, the index's three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, increased to -0.18 in August from -0.20 in July.