Leading indicators rise sharply
"Reuters Finance News
Leading Indicators Rise 0.6 Percent
Feb 21 10:52am ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The recovery of the U.S. economy from recession could be much stronger than expected, a private research firm said on Thursday, as its economic forecasting gauge rose for the fourth consecutive month in January.
The Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.6 percent in January after a strong 1.3 percent rise in December, the largest gain in almost six years.
The January rise exceeded expectations of Wall Street economists who had forecast the index to grow by 0.5 percent.
"The strong signal from the indicators is that the recession is ending and that the recovery could be more vigorous than earlier anticipated," Ken Goldstein, the board's chief economist, said in a statement.
"Given this string of strong increases, the cumulative rise in the index over the past six months is very positive and suggests gathering economic momentum," he added.
The lagging index, which measures past trends in the economy, was unchanged last month after a 0.1 percent increase in December.
Six of the 10 components that make up the leading indicators index rose in January, led by slower deliveries, consumer expectations and jobless claims.
The remaining four components, the average workweek, stock prices, capital goods orders and manufacturers' new orders, fell in January." |
