Weekly Economic Index rises to 3.47 in the latest reading
The high-frequency measure points to firmer activity, but is not a new GDP report.
The Weekly Economic Index rose to 3.47 for the week ended October 31, compared with 2.95 for October 24, according to Thursday's Dallas Fed update.
The index's 13-week moving average was 3.03. The measure combines ten daily and weekly series covering consumer behavior, the labor market and production, giving a faster but less complete view than quarterly economic reports.
The numbers are scaled to four-quarter GDP growth. A reading of 3.47 does not mean the economy grew 3.47% in one week, and it is not a newly released quarterly GDP estimate.
The update places the index alongside four-quarter GDP growth of 2.07% through the third quarter. The two numbers have different roles: one is a high-frequency activity signal, while the other is the quarterly growth benchmark used in the comparison.
Thursday's release follows lower initial jobless claims and stronger measured productivity. Those reports should not be treated as independent votes on the same question, since the weekly index itself uses labor-market data among its inputs.
The reading offers a useful activity check ahead of Friday's jobs report, rather than a substitute for that report or an official Federal Reserve policy forecast.
