Economic activity kept on rising through January in US and Japan
ECONOMIC activity stayed above its trend rate in January, according to the Chicago Fed’s activity index published yesterday.
Though the index fell to 0.22 from 0.54 in December, it continued to point to economic growth, with the three-month moving average rising from 0.06 to 0.14.
Any figure below zero indicates below-trend growth.
Employment growth appeared strong at 0.6, while the unemployment rate fell from 8.6 per cent to 8.3 per cent.
The index also pointed to subdued inflationary pressures over the year.
Meanwhile the Japanese all industry recovery index rose as the recovery continued, up 1.3 per cent in January compared to minus one per cent in December.