By Allison Prang 
 

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index, a measure of economic activity in the U.S., rose in May but stayed at a negative reading.

For May, the index was -0.05, up from -0.48 the month before. The Chicago Fed said that one of the four broad categories that comprise the index--the production-related category--contributed positively to the reading. Three of the four rose while the employment-related index fell and was negative.

Eighty-five indicators make up the index, and of those, 46 negatively contributed. A total of 49 of the 85 indicators improved from the month prior, but 20 of those contributed negatively to the index. Thirty-six of the 85 contributors worsened, the Chicago Fed said.

The CFNAI-MA3, which the Chicago Fed says can show a more consistent view of economic growth, was -0.17. The three-month moving average was up from -0.37 the previous month.

The Chicago Fed said the CFNAI Diffusion index was -0.12, up from -0.26. That three-month moving average shows how much a change in the monthly index spans across its more than 80 indicators, the Chicago Fed said.

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 24, 2019 09:09 ET (13:09 GMT)