St. Louis Fed Financial Stress Index Declines for Fourth Week in a Row

Please note: Data values previously published are subject to revision. For more information, refer to the vintage series in ALFRED®.

The St. Louis Fed Financial Stress Index has fallen for the fourth consecutive week, bringing it to its lowest level this year.  For the week ending March 11, the index measured -0.651, down slightly from the previous week’s revised value of -0.612.

Over the past week, eight of the 18 indicators contributed negatively to the change in the index, three fewer than the previous week. The two largest negative contributions were made by the Merrill Lynch High-Yield Corporate Master II Index (Mlynch_HighYld_MasterII) and by the yield spread between Baa-rated corporate bonds and the 10-year U.S. Treasury security (Corp_CRS). Eight of the 18 indicators contributed positively to the weekly change in the index, one more than the previous week. The two largest positive contributions were made by the yield spread between the 3-month Treasury bill and the 3-month commercial paper rates (CPS_3mo) and by the yield on the Merrill Lynch Asset-Backed Master BBB-rated security (Mlynch_BBBAA).

Over the past year, 14 of the 18 indicators made a positive contribution to the index and four indicators made a negative contribution. For the sixth consecutive week, the two largest positive contributions over the past year were made by the Mlynch_HighYld_MasterII and by the yield spread between that same index and the 10-year U.S. Treasury security (HighYield_CRS). For the fourth consecutive week, the largest negative contribution over the past year was made by the Merrill Lynch Bond Market Volatility Index (Mlynch_BMVI_1mo). The next largest negative contribution came from the emerging market bond index (EMBI).

For an explanation of the 18 component variables in the STLFSI, refer to the STLFSI Key.