Leading Economic Indicators Rise 0.9% in June
he index of leading U.S. economic indicators rose 0.9% in June, the Conference Board said Thursday.
In its monthly gauge of the economy’s performance over the next three to six months, the board's LEI reading rose to 137.7, following a revised unchanged level in May that was originally reported as a 0.5% drop.
Analysts had forecast a 0.5% increase for June, Bloomberg reported.
The report showed the first major revision in how the index was compiled since 1996, which were aimed at eliminating distortions caused mostly by yield failures on U.S. Treasury notes.
The Conference Board also changed the index so the growth of the leading and lagging indices is more similar to the coincident index, which measures current economic activity.
The coincident index rose 0.2%, compared with 0.1% the board said. It tracks payrolls, incomes, sales and production.
The index of lagging indicators rose 0.3% in June, compared with a 0.4% rise in May. It tracks business lending, length of unemployment, services prices and ratios of labor costs, inventories and consumer credit.
