The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.5% in February following a revised 0.1% increase in January, first reported as a 0.3% climb, the Conference Board reported Thursday.
The coincident index gained 0.2% in February after an unrevised 0.1% rise in January, while the lagging index rose 0.3% after a revised 0.5% gain in January, first reported as a 0.3% increase.
The LEI stands at 99.8, the coincident index is at 108.2 and the lagging index is at 122.1 The LEI has a baseline of 100, which reflects the level in 2004.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted LEI would grow 0.2% in the month.
"While the CEI shows the pace of economic activity remained slow at the start of 2014, the trend in the LEI remains quite positive," said the Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein. "The biggest challenge continues to be weak consumer demand, pinned down by weak wage growth. These conditions were still in evidence the first two months of the year, but will likely improve as spring arrives."
"The U.S. LEI increased sharply in February, suggesting that any weather-related volatility will be short lived and the economy should continue to improve into the second half of the year," said Ataman Ozyildirim, an economist at The Conference Board. "The strengths and weaknesses in the LEI were balanced in February, with large increases in housing permits and the interest rate spread more than offsetting decreases in the workweek in manufacturing, consumer expectations and rising initial claims for unemployment insurance."
