The numbers: Factory output sank in January, pulling down a broad measure of the U.S. economy issued on Monday by the Chicago Federal Reserve.
The Chicago Fed’s index of national economic activity registered at a negative 0.43 in January, a reversal from a sharply downwardly revised positive 0.05 in December, a figure that had been reported at positive 0.27 initially.
The volatile nature of the monthly data puts added emphasis on following the index’s less-volatile, three-month moving average. It decreased to a neutral reading last month, from a positive 0.16 in December.