Conference Board Leading Economic Index For The U.S. Increases

(Newsroom America) -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.6 percent in September to 95.9 (2004 = 100), following a 0.4 percent decline in August, and a 0.4 percent increase in July.

Economist at The Conference Board, Ataman Ozyildirim, said the U.S. LEI increase in September more than offset the decline in August.

"The LEI has been signaling an economy that is fluctuating around a slow growth trend. The six-month growth rate has slowed substantially, but still remains in growth territory due to positive contributions from the housing and financial components. Meanwhile, the coincident economic index also increased in September."

Another economist at The Conference Board, Ken Goldstein, said the single biggest challenge remains weak demand, domestically and globally.

"The struggle to regain firmer ground – in financial markets, international trade and global industrial output – continues because of weak consumer demand and a lack of more robust business investment," he said.