Federal Reserve

April 2019 Chicago Fed National Activity Index

Industrial Production staged a minor comeback in February 2019 after a stumble at the start of the year.  America’s output of all physically made good increased 0.1 percent in the period.  This modest uptick follows the upwardly revised decline of 0.4 percent (originally minus 0.6 percent).

Prices paid by producers and wholesalers rose marginally in February 2019 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Their Producer Price Index rose 0.1 percent after declining a similar amount in both December and January.  Year-over-year, this price proxy is up 1.9 percent, declining modestly from 2.0 percent in January. 

Prices increased for Americans during the month of February 2019 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI).  On a seasonally adjusted basis, this inflation measure increased 0.2 percent.  Year-over-year, the all items index increased 1.5 percent. 

Monetary policies executed by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) are designed to fulfill our central bank’s dual mandate: full-employment and price stability.  What the heck do those terms mean? 

Industrial production took a hit to start 2019 according to the latest release from the Federal Reserve.  Their indicator which covers everything physically made in America declined 0.6 percent in January.  This set back followed a downwardly revised tally of +0.1 percent (originally +0.3 percent) in December.  Not only was the monthly tally negative, but the trend decelerat

Prices paid by Americans were unchanged in January 2019 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI).  This comprehensive look at inflation gained just 1.6 percent in the past twelve months.  Stripping out food and energy, the “core” CPI tally gained 0.2 percent to start the year and 2.2 percent on a year-over-year basis. 

Relay races are exciting.  You get the fastest runners from around the globe and wait for world records to be set.  Of course, the most dangerous portion of the competition occurs during the handoff.  If a smooth connection isn’t made, forget finishing the race, let alone contacting the folks from Guinness World Records.

Before we get started on the details of December 2018 Industrial Production, I want to point out that the Federal Reserve’s latest release completes the first 100 years for this indicator.  It’s first publication covered data for January 1919.  The chart above is a copy of the first chart for industrial production.