With the U.S. economy continuing to face strong headwinds both domestically and internationally, the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing a bigger than expected decrease by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of June.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index fell by 0.3 percent in June following a revised 0.4 percent increase in May. Economists had expected the index to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Ataman Ozyildirim, an economist at the Conference Board, said, "The U.S. LEI declined in two of the last six months, and its six-month growth rate has eased in the last three months."
"The strengths among the leading indicators have become less widespread as consumer expectations and manufacturing new orders offset gains in the financial, labor, and construction-related components," Ozyildirim added.
The drop by the leading index reflected decreases by negative contributions from six of the ten indicators that make up the index, including the ISM new orders index, average consumer expectations for business conditions, building permits, and average weekly initial jobless claims.
Positive contributions from the interest rate spread, average weekly manufacturing hours, the Leading Credit Index and manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and materials helped to limit the downside for the index.
The report also showed that coincident economic index rose by 0.2 percent in June, matching the increase seen in the previous month.
The lagging economic index also increased by 0.2 percent in June following a 0.3 percent increase in May and a 0.6 percent increase in April.
by RTT Staff Writer
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