The national composite from the Chicago Fed
- Prior was 1.18 (revised to 2.54)
- Forty-five of the 85 individual indicators made positive contributions to the index in August, while 40 made negative contributions
- Twenty-nine indicators improved from July to August, while 56 indicators deteriorated
This is a diffusion index that tracks and merges 85 indicators that are already published. It's a good snapshot of the trend but doesn't tell us anything that's not out there already.
Anything above zero is still above-average growth but there's a clear slowing of the recovery and the likelihood is that the improvement stalls entirely with unemployment elevated and no fiscal boost coming.
