U.S. Leading Economic Index Climbs More Than Expected In February
March 22 2018 - 6:25AM
RTTF2
Despite a sharp downturn in stock markets and weakness in
housing construction, the Conference Board released a report on
Thursday showing a bigger than expected increase by its index of
leading U.S. economic indicators.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by
0.6 percent following a 0.8 percent increase in January. Economists
had expected the index to rise by 0.3 percent.
"The LEI points to robust economic growth throughout 2018. Its
six-month growth rate has not been this high since the first
quarter of 2011," said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business
Cycles and Growth Research at The Conference Board.
He added, "While the Federal Reserve is on track to continue
raising its benchmark rate for the rest of the year, the recent
weakness in residential construction and stock prices - important
leading indicators - should be monitored closely."
The Conference Board said the coincident economic index rose by
0.3 percent, while the lagging economic index increased by 0.4
percent.
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