Financial Conditions Index
Chicago Fed National Financial Conditions Index
The number, plainly.
The Chicago Fed's weekly composite of 105 measures of money, debt and equity markets, scaled so zero is average.
Higher, lower, and what each means.
Above zero means conditions are tighter than average; below zero means looser. It summarizes in one number what the spread and rate series say separately.
A reading is not a verdict. The Scan phase of Woodring’s Loop collects the signal; the Story phase asks what futures it is consistent with, and only the Stake phase turns that into a decision. This page does the first part.
The line in your 2027 plan.
Tests: the assumption that the financing climate the plan was written in holds for the year.
Write the assumption down, name the reading that would break it, and put a date on when it has to be argued again. That is the 18-Month Sunset applied to one line of a budget. The Last Annual Planshows what this season’s moves have already done to the common ones.
The last 36 readings.
Most recent first. Every value is as published by FRED at the time of the last refresh; FRED revises some series after the fact.
| Date | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 30, 2026 | −0.46 | +1.7% |
| Oct 23, 2026 | −0.47 | +2.1% |
| Oct 16, 2026 | −0.48 | +2.1% |
| Oct 9, 2026 | −0.49 | +2.2% |
| Oct 2, 2026 | −0.50 | +2.4% |
| Sep 25, 2026 | −0.51 | +2.3% |
| Sep 18, 2026 | −0.52 | +1.9% |
| Sep 11, 2026 | −0.53 | +1.5% |
| Sep 4, 2026 | −0.54 | +0.9% |
| Aug 28, 2026 | −0.55 | +0.4% |
| Aug 21, 2026 | −0.55 | −0.2% |
| Aug 14, 2026 | −0.55 | −0.7% |
| Aug 7, 2026 | −0.54 | −0.7% |
| Jul 31, 2026 | −0.54 | −0.9% |
| Jul 24, 2026 | −0.53 | −1.1% |
| Jul 17, 2026 | −0.53 | −1.2% |
| Jul 10, 2026 | −0.52 | −1.2% |
| Jul 3, 2026 | −0.52 | −1.2% |
| Jun 26, 2026 | −0.51 | −0.6% |
| Jun 19, 2026 | −0.51 | −0.4% |
| Jun 12, 2026 | −0.50 | +0.2% |
| Jun 5, 2026 | −0.51 | +0.2% |
| May 29, 2026 | −0.51 | +0.2% |
| May 22, 2026 | −0.51 | +0.2% |
| May 15, 2026 | −0.51 | −0.2% |
| May 8, 2026 | −0.51 | −1.0% |
| May 1, 2026 | −0.50 | −1.4% |
| Apr 24, 2026 | −0.50 | −2.1% |
| Apr 17, 2026 | −0.49 | −2.5% |
| Apr 10, 2026 | −0.47 | −2.2% |
| Apr 3, 2026 | −0.46 | −0.9% |
| Mar 27, 2026 | −0.46 | +0.9% |
| Mar 20, 2026 | −0.46 | +1.9% |
| Mar 13, 2026 | −0.47 | +3.1% |
| Mar 6, 2026 | −0.49 | +3.8% |
| Feb 27, 2026 | −0.51 | — |
When Financial Conditions Index moves, know what it tests.
The monthly Signal Layer covers every series in the library: what moved, which planning assumptions it tests, and what a continuous-planning team does about it. One email a month. Unsubscribe in one click.
Where the number comes from.
Chicago Fed National Financial Conditions Index (NFCI), retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: fred.stlouisfed.org/series/NFCI. Refreshed daily; 120 readings on file from Jul 19, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026.
Predictive Planning Institute, Signal Library: Financial Conditions Index (NFCI). predictiveplanning.com/signals/NFCI. Data via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Value −0.46 as of Oct 30, 2026.