Leading economic index up 0.6% in June

The composite of the Leading Economic Index was up 0.6% in June following a revised 0.2% increase in May, first reported as a 0.3% gain, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

The coincident index gained 0.2% in June after a revised 0.3% rise in May, first reported as a 0.3% increase, while the lagging index was up 0.2% in June, after an unrevised 0.1% rise in May.

The LEI stands at 127.8, the coincident index is at 115.5 and the lagging index is at 124.4 The LEI has a baseline of 100, which reflects the level in 2010.

Economists polled by IFR Markets predicted LEI would be up 0.4% in the month.

“The U.S. LEI rose sharply in June, pointing to continued growth in the U.S. economy and perhaps even a moderate improvement in GDP growth in the second half of the year,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, director of business cycles and growth research at The Conference Board. “The broad-based gain in the U.S. LEI was led by a large contribution from housing permits, which improved after several months of weakness.”

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Economic indicators
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