U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Declined in June
July 18 2019 - 11:05AM
Dow Jones News
By Kimberly Chin
An economic index that measures U.S. business trends fell in
June, marking the first decline since the end of last year.
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index fell 0.3% to 111.5
in June. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the
index reading to be unchanged from the prior month.
Weakness in new orders for manufacturing, housing permits and
unemployment insurance claims negatively pressured the index.
"As the U.S. economy enters its eleventh year of expansion, the
longest in U.S. history, the LEI suggests growth is likely to
remain slow in the second half of the year," said Ataman
Ozyildirim, senior director of economic research at the Conference
Board.
Comprising 10 factors including initial claims for jobless
benefits, factory orders and the S&P 500's price change, the
index is intended to signal swings in the business cycle and to
smooth out some of the volatility of individual indicators.
The board's coincident index, designed to reflect current
economic conditions, rose 0.1% to 105.9 in June, and the lagging
index increased 0.6% to 107.7.
Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 18, 2019 10:50 ET (14:50 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.