December 2020 Chemical Activity Barometer Rises But Remains In Contraction from the American Chemistry Council The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), rose 1.1% in December on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, unchanged from November and October. On a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis, the barometer fell 1.1% percent in December. The unadjusted data show a 0.7% gain in December following a 1.8% increase in November and a 0.7% gain in October. The diffusion index was stable at 71% in December. The diffusion index marks the number of positive contributors relative to the total number of indicators monitored. The CAB reading for November was revised upward by 0.24 points and that for October was revised upward by 0.89 points. These were highly volatile months for the data. As always, the December data are provisional and subject to revision.