Chicago Fed national activity index slips in March

Economic activity in the States slowed over the three months to March a widely-followed gauge revealed, as some subindices linked to the labour market cooled.

The Federal Reserve bank of Chicago's national activity index fell back from a reading of 0.27 for February to 0.08 for March.

In parallel, a more closely-watched moving average for the previous three months meanwhile dipped from a positive reading of 0.16 to 0.03.

Employment-related indicators were the main drag, falling from a reading of 0.20 to 0.02 after US non-farm payroll growth slowed from 219,000 in February to 98,000 for March.