A report released by the Conference Board on Thursday showed that its index of leading U.S. economic indicators rose by slightly more than expected in the month of December.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by 0.5 percent in December after inching up by 0.1 percent in November. Economists had expected the index to rise by 0.4 percent.
"The U.S. Leading Economic Index increased in December, suggesting the economy will continue growing at a moderate pace, perhaps even accelerating slightly in the early months of this year," said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at The Conference Board.
He added, "December's large gain was mainly driven by improving sentiment about the outlook and suggests the business cycle still showed strong momentum in the final months of 2016."
The report also said the coincident economic index increased by 0.3 percent in December after showing no change in November.
The lagging economic index also rose by 0.3 percent in December following a 0.4 percent increase in the previous month.
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