The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB) recently announced it expanded 0.6%  in December on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis and 0.4% on an unadjusted basis. The CAB is reportedly up 3.7% compared to a year earlier. Barometer readings were revised upwards for November (0.22), October (0.39) and September (0.08).

In December, production and inventories were reportedly up, while equity and product prices declined. December’s diffusion index (the number of positive contributors relative to the total number of indicators monitored) contracted to 59%.  

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