August Leading Economic Indicators Increase Slightly

The Conference Board, New York, said its Leading Economic Index increased 0.1 percent in August to 123.7 following no change in July and a 0.6 percent increase in June.

The Coincident Economic Index increased 0.1 percent in August to 112.6, following a 0.4 percent increase in July and a 0.1 percent increase in June. The Lagging Economic Index increased 0.2 percent to 118.5 following a 0.3 percent increase in July, and a 0.9 percent increase in June.

“The U.S. Leading Economic Index suggests economic growth will remain moderate into the new year with little reason to expect growth to pick up substantially,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, director of business cycles and growth research with the Conference Board. “Average working hours and new orders in manufacturing have been weak, pointing to more slow growth in the industrial sector.”

But Ozyildirim said employment, personal income and manufacturing and trade sales have all been rising, which helped offset the weakness in industrial production in recent months.

All three indexes use 2000 as a base year.