US: Chicago Fed National Activity Index points to increased economic growth in April

"Led by improvements in production-related indicators, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) rose to +0.49 in April from +0.07 in March," announced the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on Monday.

Key quotes:

"Two of the four broad categories of indicators that make up the index increased from March, and only one category made a negative contribution to the index in April. The index’s three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, increased to +0.23 in April from a neutral reading in March."

"Employment-related indicators contributed +0.10 to the CFNAI in April, up from +0.05 in March. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 211,000 in April after increasing by 79,000 in March. The civilian unemployment rate ticked down to 4.4 percent in April from 4.5 percent in the previous month."