LEI rises 0.4% in August

The composite of the Leading Economic Index rose 0.4% in August following an unrevised 0.3% increase in July, the Conference Board reported on Thursday.

Economists polled by IFR Markets predicted LEI would rise 0.2% for the month.

“The August gain is consistent with continuing growth in the U.S. economy for the second half of the year, which may even see a moderate pick up,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at The Conference Board. “While the economic impact of recent hurricanes is not fully reflected in the leading indicators yet, the underlying trends suggest that the current solid pace of growth should continue in the near term.”

BB-092217-LEI

The coincident index was unchanged last month after a 0.3% rise in July increase, while the lagging index was also up 0.3% in August, after a revised 0.2% gain in July originally reported as a 0.1% rise.

The LEI stands at 128.8, the coincident index is at 115.8 and the lagging index is at 125.2 The LEI has a baseline of 100, which reflects its level in 2010.

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