Leading Indicators Rise 1.1% in December

The composite index of leading economic indicators gained 1.1% in December, its ninth straight gain, the Conference Board reported yesterday.

LEI increased a revised 1.0% in November, originally reported as a 0.9% increase.

The coincident index was up 0.1% in December after a revised 0.1% rise in November, which was originally reported as a 0.2% gain.

Meanwhile, the lagging index fell 0.2% after a revised 0.5% decline in November, which was originally reported as a 0.4% drop.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted LEI would be up 0.7% in the month.

“The indicators point to an economy in early recovery,” board economist Ken Goldstein said in a statement.

“The coincident economic index shows slow expansion of economic activity through December. The leading economic index suggests that the pace of improvement could pick up this spring.”

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